'  !    ' 

t!  ii  ! 


HOME! 


THE  PILGRIMS'  FAITH  REVIVED. 


BY 


CHARLES  T.  TORREY. 

Written  duiing  his  incarceration  in  Baltimore  Jail,  after  his 
conviction,  and  while  awaiting — his  sentence. 


'  Aye,  call  it  holy  ground, 

The  land  whereon  they  trod  ; 
They  left  unstained  what  there  they  found, 

Freedom  to  worship  God.' 


PUBLISHED  FOR  THE  BENEFIT  OF  HIS  FAMILY. 

SALEM: 

PUBLISHED  BY  JOHN  P.  JEWETT  AND  COMPANY. 
CINCINNATI  :   GEORGE  L.  WEED. 

1845. 


iv  PREFACE. 

speak,  a  local  scenery.  I  have  drawn  its  scenes,  its  incidents, 
its  illustrations,  mostly  from  the  Home  of  my  childhood. 
It  even  takes,  in  part,  the  form  of  personal  narrative.  Other 
incidents  were  not  wanting,  derived  from  countless  sources, 
to  illustrate  great  principles.  But  I  love  to  connect  every- 
thing I  write  with  the  endearments,  the  sorrows,  the  joys 
of  Home :  the  scenes  and  friends  whom  I  loved  in  youth. 
And  I  have  trusted  that  it  would  give  a  more  familiar,  home- 
like character  to  views  intended  to  guide  the  steps  of  those 
who  seek  a  Home  on  high.  There  is  not  an  incident,  not 
a  narrative  or  an  illustration  but  is  true,  in  fact,  so  far  as  I 
know.  Most  of  them  are  drawn  from  my  own  personal 
recollections,  and  are  connected  with  the  life  and  death  of 
those  I  dearly  loved. 

The  local  and  personal  allusions,  while  I  trust  they  will 
offend  none,  will  I  hope  benefit  some  of  my  early  and  still 
loved  associates.  At  the  same  time,  to  the  general  reader, 
they  illustrate  traits  of  human  character  and  principles  of 
action  that  are  as  universal  as  the  elements  of  fallen  or  re- 
generate manhood. 

The  '  Plot '  is  simply  the  decline  of  spiritual  religion  in 
a  Puritan  church,  and  its  revival.  The  causes  of  both  are 
illustrated  by  incidents  of  every  kind,  so  as  to  present  the 
contrast  between  the  worldly  and  spiritual  mind  as  vividly 
as  may  be. 

If  one  illustration  provoke  a  smile,  another  may  cause 
a  tear.  Smiles  and  tears  make  up  our  life.  I  love  both,  in 
their  places.  Sometimes  they  each  spring  from  an  heart 
of  agony;  sometimes  each  is  the  herald  of  joy. 

I  have  not  avoided  brief  discussions  of  topics  both  pro- 
found and  exciting.  And  I  never  go  out  of  my  way  to 
avoid  a  thought  that  is  new,  or  possibly,  offensive,  so  be, 
that  I  believe  it  true. 

So,  Reader,  the  writer  and  his  book  you  know.  May  it 
help  you  to  value  and  enjoy  that  every-day  religion  which 
fills  the  bosom  of  the  prisoner  with  the  Peace  of  God,  and 
by  which  our  feet  may  be  safely  guided  in  the  path  that 
leads  from  our  earthly  dwelling-place  to  our  HEAVENLY 
HOME. 

CHARLES  T.  TOEEET. 

Baltimore,  Md. 

Dec.  20,  1844. 


CONTENTS, 


PREFACE Pages  3,  4 

CHAPTER  I. 

Our  town  described — Early  settlers — Piety  with  knowledge — Edu- 
cated ministry — No  village — No  foreign  source  of  corruption — 
The  Pastor  settled — Parish  funds — The  causes  of  declension. 
(1)  Theoretical  errors.  (2)  Bad  morality — No  life  remains 

13—30 
CHAPTER  II. 

The  gold  dimmed — Causes.  (1)  Civil  rights  conferred  on  church 
members  only.  (2)  Half-way  covenant — True  views  of  the  sa- 
craments. (3)  Worldly  churches  will  have  worldly  ministers — 
Whitefield  rejected— Teachers  of  error.  (4)  Influence  of  the 
Revolution — The  way  the  tones  paid  taxes — War  no  friend  of 
Christ 31—48 

CHAPTER  III. 

Like  people,  like  priest — The  worldly  pastor  described — The  De- 
ist in  the  pulpit — Church  discipline  neglected — Religious  ideas 
lost — The  heart  wiser  than  the  intellect — The  Deacon's  faith — 
Pure  faith  connected  with  prosperity — The  Ball  .  49 — 62 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  shades  grow  darker — Pulpit  exchanges  with  errorists — No  so- 
cial prayer — The  closet  forgotten — Neglect  of  worship — The 
Sabbath  desecrated — Covetousness,  which  is  idolatry — Exam- 
ples   '•  '.  -•'  y  .  63—71 

CHAPTER  V. 

Intemperance  abounding — Death  and  crime — Lewdness — The  sins 
of  the  parents  visited  on  their  children,  a  true  story — The  covenant 
remembered  .  .  72 — 81 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Party  spirit — Preaching  at  men — Uses  of  sects  and  parties — Bible 
politics— Supremacy  of  the  law  of  God  .  .  .  82 — 91 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Relics  of  faith — A  mother — Spirit  in  heaven — Old  associations. 
The  illustration — Old  books — Conscience  recognizes  the  truth — 
Literature  and  religion — The  libraries — Home,  a  mission  field  ! 
— The  faithful  preacher — Social  prayer,  revived — The  new  com- 
mandment obeyed — Religion  and  education  .  .  92 — 107 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Belle  of  Home          . 108—122 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  mission  sermons — Givers  not  losers — Weakness  made  strong; 
Folly,  wise — The  dream — The  poor  widow — The  learned  taught 
humility — The  sailor  preacher — The  heart  the  best  controversial- 
ist—The  sons  of  Home,  abroad — The  natural  heart  shown 

123—142 
CHAPTER  X. 

Physic  for  a  guilty  conscience ! 143 — 164 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Old  ties  broken—  The  faithful  pastor — Old  George—The  Bible  class 
— The  vicious  saved — Election  justified ;  the  narrative — The 
strayed  sheep  looked  up — The  aged  sinner  saved — The  poor- 
house — Temperance — The  last  argument,  holy  living  165 — 184 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  dead  left  alone  ! — Satire,  yet  truth — Religion  imitated — Spir- 
it without  knowledge — Preaching  of  Christ,  but  not  preaching 
Christ — The  wild  flower — Paid  pastors  no  "  hirelings"  185 — 199 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

A  century  passed — Twilight — Logic  of  the  heart — Spiritual  dis- 
cernment— The  "set  time  to  favor  Zion"  come — The  revival — 
The  wise  need  teaching  .  •  .  .  200 — 214 


CONTENTS.  Vli 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
"  The  early  loved,  the  early  lost"  ....        215—235 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Diversities  of  character — Causes.  Natural  gifts — Feelings  vary — 
Education — Preaching — The  metaphysicians — Course  of  Provi- 
dence ;  Facts — Diversities  of  belief.  Illustrations — Sources  of 
error— all  truths  saving — "  The  same  Spirit"— Our  Home  above. 

236—255 


HOME! 


"  They  left  unstained,  what  there  they  found, 
Freedom  to  worship  God  !" 

FeKcia  Hemans. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Our  town  described — Early  settlers — Piety  with  knowl- 
edge— Educated  Ministry — No  village — No  foreign 
source  of  corruption — The  Pastor  settled — Parish  funds. 
Two  causes  of  declension,  (1)  Theoretical  errors,  (2) 
Bad  morality — No  life  remains. 

"  Home  '.  home  !  sweet  home  ! 
Be  it  ever  so  homely, 
There's  no  place  like  home  !" 

"  OUR  TOWN,"  the  scene  of  my  narrative,  is  one  of 
the  first  thirteen  incorporated  towns  of  New  Eng- 
land. I  shall  call  it  simply,  HOME.  Long  years 
have  passed  since  I  ceased  to  be  more  than  a 
chance  visitor  there ;  but  there's  not  a  hill,  nor  a 
stream,  not  a  quiet  meadow,  or  forest  grove,  not 
one  of  its  dwellings — many  of  which  bear  the 
mosses  of  nearly  two  centuries  on  their  venerable 
roofs,  in  which  I  do  not  feel  that  tender,  and  ap- 
2 


14  HOME. 

propriating  interest  which  is  ever  linked  with  that 
sweet  word,  HOME.  No  lapse  of  time,  no  change 
of  pursuits,  no  alienations  of  feeling  or  sentiment 
blot  from  my  memory  one  scene  of  my  childhood. 
In  my  dreams,  in  the  prison  cell  of  a  distant  city,  I 
revisit  every  old  haunt,  think  where  I  plucked  the 
butter-cups  and  violets ;  and  the  old  moss  grown 
nut  tree,  the  button  wood  where  the  oriole  hung 
her  nest  of  fine  thread,  far  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
most  daring  ;  the  dear  old  mansion  where  my  early 
youth  was  passed  so  rapidly;  and,  more  than  all, 
the  playmates,  whose  every  feature,  every  joyous 
laugh,  every  little  sorrow,  all  seem  as  vividly  before 
me,  as  if  it  were  yesterday's  scenes. 

So,  no  matter  what  the  maps  call  it,  its  name 
shall  be  HOME. 

The  first  white  settler  in  Home,  was  one  of  my 
own  ancestors.  His  humble  calling,  a  tanner,  did 
not  exempt  him  from  the  malice  of  those  who 
"  wore  out  the  Saints  of  the  Most  High,"  in  the 
Fatherland.  So,  gathering  up  his  household  goods, 
cheered  by  the  smiles  of  his  Christian  partner,  he 
crossed  the  waste  of  waters,  and,  with  a  courage 
few  dared  imitate,  plunged  into  the  wilderness 
above  twenty  miles  from  any  habitation  of  a  Chris- 
tian man.  His  meek  confidence  in  them,  and  the 
utility  of  his  calling,  gained  him  the  favor  of  the 


HOME.  15 

savages,  and  they  gave  him  a  large  tract  of  cleared 
land,  part  of  their  own  corn  fields,  as  a  token  of 
their  love  and  gratitude.  His  line  of  descendants 
still  live  on  the  hallowed  spot  where  the  first 
prayer  ascended  to  our  Fathers'  God  from  the 
domestic  altar.  He  came  to  the  town  in  ]  622.  A 
few  years  more  converted  the  wild  woods  and 
swamps  into  the  fields  and  rich  meadows  of  the 
pleasant  farming  and  fishing  town  of  Home. 

The  eastern  border,  for  some  twelve  miles,  rests 
on  the  sea-shore.  It  is  a  long,  rocky  beach,  on 
which  the  surges  never  cease  to  beat,  which  has 
been  the  last  sand  touched  by  many  a  shipwrecked 
sailor,  and  is  interrupted  by  several  high  hills,  or 
cliffs.  In  some  past  century  these  cliffs  were  long 
promontories,  jutting  out  into  the  ocean  waves. 
Storm  after  storm  has  beat  upon  them,  and  now, 
more  than  two  thirds  of  their  soil  has  fallen,  and 
been  washed  away.  Twenty  years  ago,  I  remem- 
ber riding  on  firm  soil,  at  a  safe  distance  from  the 
then  peaceful  brink  of  one  of  the  cliffs,  more  than 
an  hundred  feet  beyond  the  present  reach  of  the 
fierce  waves.  And  the  huge  rocks  that  once  dot- 
ted the  top,  now  help  to  break  the  power  of  the 
waters,  far  out  from  the  shore.  These  cliffs,  in 
1622  were  covered  with  the  cornfields  of  the  In- 
dians. At  the  foot  of  one  of  them  stood  their  wig- 


16  HOME. 

warns.  Near  by,  stands  the  old  mansion,  or  its 
successor,  built  on  the  soil  they  gave  the  friendly 
Christian  tanner.  Between  another,  and  a  rocky 
headland,  is  our  little  tide  harbor,  giving  shelter  to 
our  fishing  craft,  and  a  few  vessels  engaged  in  the 
coasting  trade. 

For  more  than  fifteen  miles,  our  southern  border 
rests  on  the  winding  banks  of  a  little  river,  famed 
for  its  excellent  fisheries,  and  still  more  for  its  ship- 
building. Here  our  carpenters  launched  the  first 
American  vessel  that  ever  doubled  the  stormy  Cape 
Horn,  and  coasted  the  western  shores  of  our  con- 
tinent. It  was  manned,  in  part,  tradition  says,  by 
our  towns-people. 

From  the  broad  meadows  of  the  river  banks,  the 
land  rises  gently  towards  the  North  and  West, 
towards  a  range  of  hills  that  we  call  mountains, 
though  the  dwellers  on  the  sides  of  the  White 
Hills  would  smile  at  the  designation.  Mount  Hope, 
the  highest,  may  be  300  feet  above  the  tide  level. 
From  these  hills  many  little  brooks  and  streamlets 
find  their  way  to  the  river,  and  sea  side.  There  is 
not  an  abrupt  hill,  not  a  precipice,  save  one  on  the 
sea  shore,  in  all  the  town.  The  hills  slope  gently 
down  to  the  streams ;  and  these  flow  with  hardly  a 
murmur,  through  the  woods  and  wilds  till  they  are 
lost  in  the  large  river,  having  just  descent  enough 


HOME.  17 

to  supply  mill  sites  to  saw  the  boards,  and  grind 
the  corn  and  rye  we  use.  The  whole  tone  of  the 
scenery  is  quiet,  peaceful,  loving,  if  I  may  so  apply 
the  word.  The  soil  is  everywhere  good,  yielding 
fair  returns  to  the  farmer's  toil. 

HOME  was  early  settled  by  a  large  number  of 
energetic  men,  who,  without  exception,  engaged  in 
farming.  Even  the  ministers,  till  within  my  own 
recollection,  cultivated  the  parsonage  lands,  set 
apart  for  the  support  of  the  gospel  by  the  piety  of 
the  early  settlers.  The  physicians  followed  the 
same  example.  So  did  the  merchants.  And  as 
for  a  lawyer,  to  this  day,  with  over  4000  people,  we 
have  neither  crimes  nor  quarrels  enough  to  support 
one !  They,  too,  have  been  farmers,  although  sev- 
eral of  them  have  adorned  the  highest  judicial  sta- 
tions in  the  Commonwealth  and  the  Nation. 

Till  within  ten  years,  there  was  nothing  like  a 
village  in  Home.  The  people  are  so  evenly  dis- 
tributed over  its  wide  surface,  that  each  lives  on 
his  own  separate  farm,  yet  not  a  house  in  all  Home 
is  out  of  sight  of  its  neighbor.  I  remember  one 
house,  in  my  boyhood,  that  was  so  surrounded  with 
noble  pine  forests,  that,  in  spite  of  its  situation  on 
a  hill  top,  no  other  house  was  visible  from  it.  It 
was  a  topic  of  general  congratulation,  among  the 
neighbors,  when  the  fall  of  several  huge  trees,  that 
2* 


18  HOME. 

had  braved  the  storms  of  centuries,  gave  that  lonely 
family  a  view  of  a  chimney  top,  perhaps  a  hundred 
rods  away  !  "  Yes,  we  feel  much  more  social,  now," 
remarked  the  kind  woman,  who  for  thirty  years 
had  not  been  able  to  see  her  neighbors  without 
going  to  their  houses,  or  receiving  their  visits. 

There  are,  there  always  have  been,  some  rich, 
very  rich  men  in  our  town.  But  the  social  inequal- 
ities that  riches  and  poverty  too  often  create  were 
scarcely  ever  known.  I  remember  one  rich  man 
who  made  himself  very  generally  odious,  because 
he  would  have  his  hired  laborers  eat  in  the  kitchen, 
instead  of  seating  them  at  the  family  table.  "  He 
was  so  proud,  he  would  die  poor,"  was  once  said  of 
him.  He  did  not,  but  his  children  may. 

For  a  century  and  an  half,  hardly  a  foreigner  has 
entered  Home.  The  few  who  came  were  soon  as- 
similated to  the  habits  and  feelings  of  a  people 
born,  living,  and  dying  on  the  same  soil.  I  can  re- 
member twenty  families  in  one  section  of  the  town, 
which,  for  seven,  eight  and  nine  generations  have 
lived  on  the  same  spot ;  no  rare  thing  in  the  old 
countries,  but  quite  so  in  our  new  and  ever  moving 
land.  No  foreign  sources  of  corruption,  therefore, 
ever  came  in  to  make  the  sons  unworthy  to  bear 
the  names  of  their  sires.  If  they  have  fallen,  the 
root  of  evil  is  from  within. 


HOME.  19 

The  first  settlers  were  generally  men  of  property. 
Many  of  them  were  scholars  and  accomplished 
gentlemen.  They  impressed  on  their  children  a 
love  of  learning,  and  a  refinement  of  manners  that 
has  never  wholly  disappeared,  in  the  darkest  periods 
of  the  annals  of  Home. 

Sound  in  their  religious  faith,  taught  the  value  of 
a  good  hope  towards  God  by  the  lessons  of  perse- 
cution, there  was  not,  perhaps,  for  two  generations 
a  head  of  a  family  who  did  not  belong  to  the 
church ;  not  a  house  in  which  the  morning  and 
evening  sacrifice  of  prayer  and  thanksgiving  was 
omitted. 

No  law  was  ever  needed  to  induce  the  people 
to  sustain  a  sufficient  number  of  excellent  free 
schools.  And,  for  more  than  a  century  from  the 
settlement,  a  public  "  grammar"  school,  supplied  to 
all  who  desired  it,  the  means  of  a  more  enlarged 
course  of  study.  While  the  rigor  of  the  early  faith 
and  piety  remained,  no  town  set  a  greater  value  on 
the  higher  branches  of  education  than  the  people 
of  Home. 

At  an  early  period  two  large  churches  were 
gathered,  and  pastors  were  settled ;  men  who  com- 
bined the  most  fervent  piety  with  the  best  edu- 
cation the  Universities  of  the  mother  country,  or  our 
own  infant  Harvard  could  afford.  An  ignorant 


20 


clergyman  was  never  suffered  to  disgrace  a  pulpit, 
in  Home.  Oh,  had  the  people  always  cared  as 
much  for  the  deeper  dishonor  done  to  it,  by  the 
want  of  a  pure  faith  and  the  graces  of  the  Spirit, 
how  different  would  have  been  the  results  !  Piety 
without  knowledge  soon  becomes  mere  weak  fanat- 
icism. But  knowledge  without  piety  only  "  puffeth 
up"  the  natural  heart  with  pride,  and  leads  the  spirit 
far  away  from  God. 

Nothing  better  illustrates  the  spirit  of  our  fathers, 
than  the  mode  of  providing  a  pastor,  as  it  is  spread 
out,  on  many  a  page  of  the  early  town  records  of 
Home.  The  whole  town  took  part  in  it ;  for  not  a 
family  was  found  in  its  limits  who  lived  without,  at 
least,  the  forms  of  religion.  It  was  a  municipal 
act,  as  well  as  an  act  of  the  members  of  the  church, 
in  their  ecclesiastical  capacity.  This  was,  indeed, 
an  error  of  our  fathers,  which  later  experience  has 
corrected.  But  with  them,  the  hearts  of  all  so 
united  in  the  work,  that  it  made  little  difference  in 
the  first  century. 

The  first  step  was  to  assemble  all  the  church,  and 
appoint  a  day  of  public  fasting  and  prayer,  that  God 
would  guide  them  in  the  selection  of  a  candidate 
for  the  pastoral  office.  From  sunset  till  sunset 
again,  the  entire  people  fasted,  literally.  In  every 
house,  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  and  prayer  oc- 


HOME.  21 

cupied  the  intervals  of  public  worship.  Commonly 
some  neighboring  pastor  preached  to  them  two 
sermons,  appropriate  to  their  condition,  and  to  the 
solemn  duties  connected  with  their  objects.  Those 
long,  long  sermons !  Each  from  two  to  four  hours 
long !  How  did  our  fathers  and  mothers  endure 
it,  even  in  summer  weather,  not  to  speak  of  the 
cold,  icy  winter's  day,  when  the  sun  had  no  power 
to  melt  the  icicle  on  the  sheltered  south  eaves,  and 
neither  stove  nor  fireplace  shed  a  genial  glow  over 
any  part  of  their  vast  wooden  edifices  for  worship. 
Their  faith  warmed  them,  or  else  they  were  made 
of  sterner  stuff  than  their  children. 

Then  followed  the  appointment  of  a  committee 
of  the  wisest  men  of  the  church  to  take  the  advise 
of  the  neighboring  churches  and  pastors  respecting 
a  candidate,  unless,  indeed,  one  of  eminent  gifts 
was  at  hand,  respecting  whom  no  such  advice 
could  be  needed. 

The  candidate  came.  For  six  months  or  a  year 
he  "  went  in  and  out  before  the  people,"  preached 
the  word,  visited  the  sick,  comforted  the  afflicted, 
taught  the  young,  counselled  the  aged.  In  a  word, 
he  discharged,  as  he  was  able,  all  the  offices  of  a 
pastor.  Even  all  this  did  not  decide  his  settle- 
ment, in  every  case.  Another  day  of  prayer  and 
fasting  was  observed,  "to  know  the  mind  of  the 


22  HOME. 

Spirit  whether  He  would  call"  the  candidate  to 
the  permanent  discharge  of  these  duties.  If  any 
doubt  remained,  the  matter  was  still  deferred,  and 
other  days  of  prayer  set  apart.  Then,  if  the  people 
were  united,  the  advice  of  the  surrounding  churches 
and  pastors  was  sought ;  not,  indeed,  as  having  any 
binding  control  over  their  choice,  but  as  a  matter  of 
brbtherly  affection  and  courtesy.  Then  followed 
the  solemn  services  of  the  ordination.  No  wonder 
that  the  pastoral  relation,  so  maturely  formed,  was 
an  enduring  bond,  that  nothing  but  death,  or  the 
misconduct  of  the  pastor  could  sever.  Care  was 
needed,  in  forming  ties,  so  sacred  in  their  objects, 
with  which  the  spiritual  welfare  of  an  entire  gene- 
ration was  to  be  bound  up. 

Before  the  final  decision,  the  people,  in  their  mu- 
nicipal capacity,  assembled  to  provide,  in  a  suita- 
ble manner,  for  the  support  of  their  pastor,  so  that 
no  grinding  necessity  might  compel  him  to  neglect 
his  study  for  the  labors  of  the  field ;  though  it  was 
not  deemed  improper  for  him  to  sow  and  reap  his 
own  glebe,  as  well  as  scatter  the  seeds  of  spiritual 
life,  and  gather  in  the  harvest  of  immortality. 

At  these  meetings,  as  well  as  on  the  ordinary 
Sabbath  services,  every  person,  of  every  age,  not  in 
actual  attendance  on  the  sick,  was  expected  to  be 
present  Causeless  absence  was  noted,  the  offend- 


HOME.  23 

er  visited  and  tenderly  reproved.  And,  if  admoni- 
tion did  not  avail,  he  was  fined,  as  an  offender 
against  the  rules  of  good  morals,  as  well  as  the 
laws  of  God's  house.  We  deem  this  unwise  ;  but 
our  fathers,  erroneous  as  they  were  in  some  things, 
judged  rightly  of  the  value  of  social  worship,  both 
to  the  morals  and  spiritual  well-being  of  man. 

The  pious,  in  every  generation,  have  their  modes 
of  imparting  religious  instruction  to  the  young. 
Our  fathers  knew  its  vital  import,  as  well  as  we. 
In  every  family  that  feared  God,  family  instruction 
was  given  on  the  Sabbath,  and  from  day  to  day, 
"  rising  up  early  and  teaching  them  "  to  walk  in  the 
path  of  life.  The  pastor,  too,  every  month,  assem- 
bled the  youth,  not  merely  to  hear  the  catechism, 
but  to  give  such  lessons  on  its  great  truths  as  were 
adapted  to  their  age. 

I  do  not  wonder  that  errorists  ridicule  that  old 
catechism  !  Its  quaint  terms,  half  obsolete,  save  in 
books  of  technical  theology,  cannot  obscure  the 
brightness  and  logical  harmony  of  the  great  truths 
it  contains.  And  it  is  a  foolish  undervaluing  of  the 
intellectual  powers  of  our  children,  to  suppose  that 
most  of  them  cannot  understand  these  primary  doc- 
trines of  the  Bible,  stated  in  logical  form,  as  well  as 
when  clothed  in  the  attractions  of  parable,  or  story. 
Error  can  never  gain  control  over  the  conscience, 


24  HOME. 

when  the  mind  is  imbued  with  clear,  logical  con- 
ceptions of  these  divine  truths. 

In  both  the  parishes  of  Home,  the  erring  piety  of 
our  fathers  made  ample  provision,  by  large  vested 
funds,  for  the  permanent  support  of  the  ministry. 
I  say  '  erring ;'  for  it  is  far  better  to  leave  to  every 
generation  the  duty,  and  blessing  too,  of  feeding 
their  spiritual  guides,  by  their  own  free-will  offer- 
ings. They  love  their  pastor  more,  because  they 
impart  to  him  their  "  carnal  things,"  in  return  for 
the  spiritual  joy,  peace  and  comfort  they  derive  from 
his  labors.  The  widest  observation  proves  that  the 
pastor's  dependence  does  not  diminish  his  fidelity. 
It  is  the  reverse,  with  all  who  are  fitted,  either  by 
nature  or  grace  to  preach  the  gospel  at  all.  And 
those  who  best  "commend  themselves  to  every 
man's  conscience,  in  the  sight  of  God,"  by  a  plain 
and  loving  exhibition  of  the  guilt  of  man,  and  the 
glory  of  the  cross  will  always,  or  almost  always, 
find  the  most  liberal  support 

For  more  than  a  century  the  hopes  and  prayers  of 
the  fathers  of  Home  were  justified  by  the  general 
piety,  pure  morality,  and  high  intelligence  of  their 
descendants. 

One  instance  of  their  superiority  over  the  general 
prejudices  of  their  age,  I  am  too  proud  of  to  omit. 

The  witchcraft  delusion,  after  destroying  thou- 


HOME  . 


25 


sands  of  lives  in  every  part  of  Protestant  and  Catho- 
lic Europe,  began  to  infect  the  land  of  the  Pilgrims 
also.  For  a  brief  period,  the  popular  delusion  was 
strong.  The  wisest  magistrates,  the  profoundest 
scholars,  the  most  devout  ministers  were  carried 
away  with  it.  In  a  few  instances  even  death  was 
inflicted  upon  victims,  not  more  deluded  than  those 
who  adjudged  their  doom.  But,  even  when  the 
frenzy  was  at  its  height  there  were  not  wanting  wise 
and  good  men  who  pitied  the  weakness  they  could 
not  help  censuring ;  and  who  deemed  a  merciful 
forbearance  a  better  remedy  for  popular  delusion 
than  the  hangman's  scourge  and  rope.  The  people 
of  Home  from  the  very  first,  resisted  the  mania. 
Their  enlightened  members  of  the  Governor's  coun- 
cil, and  of  the  Legislature,  with  the  hearty  concur- 
rence of  both  pastors  and  people,  strove  to  rescue 
the  supposed  witches  from  their  fate,  and  to  repeal 
the  sanguinary  edicts  against  them.  It  is  a  matter 
of  history  that  their  efforts  were  ultimately  crowned 
with  success.  Intelligence  so  much  in  advance  of 
their  age,  firmness  in  resisting  a  force  to  which  a 
Hale  and  a  Mather  yielded,  deserve  high  praise.  I 
am  proud  of  my  early  HOME. 

The  causes  that  dimmed  the  lustre  of  the  most 
fine  gold,  in  their  details,  I  reserve  for  another  chap- 
ter.   Some  general  thoughts  will  close  this. 
3 


26  HOME. 

There  are  two  generic  modes  in  which  a  reli- 
gious community  become  corrupted.  Their  moral- 
ity may  be  debased,  while  their  attachment  to  cor- 
rect theoretical  truths  is  not,  at  first,  abated.  Or, 
their  faith  in  sound  doctrines  may  be  shaken,  with- 
out affecting  the  tone  of  social  morals,  often  for  a 
long  period. 

Both  these  modes  of  corruption  destroy  spiritual 
life  in  the  soul,  equally.  "  Faith  without  works  is 
dead,  living  alone,"  no  matter  how  strong  it  may  be, 
or  with  how  vivid  feelings  it  may  be  connected. 
And  the  most  correct  outward  life  will  not  obtain 
the  pardon  of  our  sin ;  for  "  the  just  shall  live  by 
faith." 

The  evil  of  a  dead  faith,  besides  separating  the 
soul  from  God,  will  certainly,  in  the  end,  destroy 
good  morals.  Dead  faith  Tiers  fruits ;  but  they  are 
bitter  as  the  apples  of  Sodom. 

The  evil  of  impure  living  will,  in  the  end,  destroy 
correct  faith  ;  for  sinners,  determined  to  live  in  sin, 
"will  not  hear  sound  doctrine,"  but  "  heap  to  them- 
selves teachers,"  who  will  connive  at  their  sins,  and 
persuade  them  they  are  in  the  road  to  heaven, 
while  the  pit  is  wide  open  to  devour  them  alive. 

Such  are  the  restraints  thrown  around  the  minis- 
try, that  corruption  in  morals  seldom  begins  with 
them.  But  the  world  has  but  one  example, — that 


HOME.  27 

of  Swedenborg — of  errors  in  the  theory  of  the  faith 
which  do  not  spring  from  the  teachers  of  religion. 
Examples  of  both  modes  of  corruption  are  common 
enough  in  all  ages  and  in  every  land.  Our  own 
supplies  many.  When  men  begin  to  regard  reli- 
gion as  something  intended  for  the  Sabbath,  the 
sick  bed,  or  old  age,  instead  of  the  guide  of  their 
daily  life  in  all  its  actions,  civil,  as  well  as  individ- 
ual and  social,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  their  faith  is  dy- 
ing; it  will  soon  be  dead.  They  may  still  have 
deep  and  pervading  religious  excitements,  and  call 
them  "  revivals."  There  may  be  a  keen  s~ense  of 
sin,  humiliation  ;  followed  by  peace,  joy,  rapture ! 
The  human  soul  is  naturally  devout.  The  worship- 
per of  Brahma  and  Guadama  may  have  as  sincere 
and  profound  emotion  as  the  follower  of  Christ.  Is 
his  heart  purified  ?  His  life  gives  the  answer.  The 
Spanish  pirate  had  his  priests.  With  profound  hu- 
mility, with  many  tears,  with  deep  remorse,  with 
penance  and  scourges  he  bought  absolution ;  then 
filled  with  hope,  he  returned  to  his  work  of  butch- 
ery. The  slaveholder  of  our  land,  often  professes  a 
correct  creed,  has  clear  views  of  the  divine  charac- 
ter, sees  the  evil  of  sin,  in  general,  humbles  him- 
self, finds  peace,  and  deems  himself  forgiven.  Then 
he  turns  to  make  the  poor  work  without  wages, 
sells  the  righteous  in  the  market,  "  a  boy,  for  a  har- 


28  HOME. 

lot,  a  girl,  for  a  pair  of  shoes ;"  and  tears  asunder 
the  ties  of  nature  and  love.  Still  he  thinks  he  is  a 
child  of  God.  The  debased  morals  of  churches 
that  allow  slavery  has  been  very  widely  followed  by 
doctrinal  errors,  far  more  widely  than  northern  men 
are  aware.  Popular  preaching,  in  these  churches, 
more  and  more  fails  to  exhibit  the  humbling  doc- 
trines of  the  cross,  and  becomes  merely  eloquent 
appeals  to  the  natural  feelings  and  sympathies,  or 
acquired  tastes  of  the  audience.  Among  the  more 
ignorant  classes,  dreams  and  delusions  more  gross 
than  witchcraft,  and  animal — or  if  you  will — mag- 
netic excitements,  as  baleful  as  they  are  foolish,  take 
the  place  of  a  correct  faith  and  pure  life. 

Instances  of  the  other  form  of  corruption  are 
found,  among  us,  in  small  sects,  and  in  individuals. 
My  narrative  will  supply  many.  Though,  in  a  com- 
munity like  New  England,  where  the  public  law  is 
one,  for  the  rich  and  the  poor;  where  no  man's 
vices  are  screened  by  his  dependance  or  his  power ; 
where  in  every  town  some  correct  religious  faith 
and  practice  sheds  light  on  the  lingering  darkness* 
even  gross  religious  errors  cannot  debase  the  morals 
of  social  life,  so  soon,  or  so  widely,  as  happens  in 
the  other  class  of  cases. 

Besides,  as  this  form  of  corruption  begins  always 
with  the  ministers,  those  who  preach  a  lax  faith,  in 


29 


doctrines,  are  often  the  more  eager  to  enforce  a 
correct  outward  deportment  and  amiable  manner. 
They  have  lost  the  highest  sources  of  power  to  en- 
force a  pure  life  ;  but  they  may  be  diligent  in  using 
the  influences  that  remain.  As  they  declare  heav- 
en depends  on  correct  morals  and  amiable  social 
conduct,  they  often  succeed  in  forming  such  char- 
acters as  that  of  the  young  ruler,  who  lacked  but 
"one  thing,"  the  spirit  of  self-denying  love  that 
should  have  given  harmony  to  the  inner  and  out- 
ward man. 

This  class  of  teachers  are  eager  to  show  that 
without  the  cross,  without  an  atoning  Saviour,  and 
a  sanctifying  Spirit,  they  can  make  men  as  lovely 
in  their  social  life,  as  pure  in  morals,  as  free  from 
acts  of  dishonor  or  dishonesty,  as  those  who  com- 
bine evangelical  faith  with  the  same  teachings  of 
morality.  In  a  town  where  purifying  agencies  of 
greater  power  once  acted,  or  still  exist,  with  some 
power,  they  succeed  in  many  instances. 

"  When  Jesus  looked  upon  him,  he  loved "  the 
young  ruler.  As  he  looks  down  from  his  throne 
in  glory,  where  he  still  wears  man's  loving  nature 
and  human  sympathies,  no  doubt  he  loves,  in  the 
same  degree,  the  amiable  fruits  of  the  labors  of 
these  teachers.  "  But  ONE  THING  thou  lackest." 
The  life  of  faith  they  do  not  live.  The  heart  of 
3* 


30  HOME. 

love  for  divine  purity,  justice  and  goodness  they  do 
not  possess.  They  will  "  go  away  sorrowful  "  from 
the  gates  of  glory,  which  they  thought  would  so 
certainly  open  to  receive  them. 

So  then,  the  emotion,  the  enthusiasm  of  faith  may 
exist,  in  connection  with  a  corrupt  morality. 

And  amiable  manners  and  correct  morals  may 
remain  after  correct  ideas  of  the  gospel  of  salvation 
are  lost 

The  one  is  "faith  without  works."  Can  faith 
save  him  ?  The  other  is  "  works  without  faith." 
Is  a  man  justified  by  works  only  ?  Neither  is  an 
example  of  true  rdigion.  In  that,  "  faith  works  by 
love,  purifies  the  heart,  and  overcomes  the  world." 

The  spirit  of  life  within  throws  around  the  out- 
ward life  the  glory,  the  sweetness,  the  peace  and 
beauty  of  its  own  nature. 


HOME.  31 


CHAPTER    II. 

The  gold  dimmed — Causes — ( 1 )  civil  rights  conferred  on 
church  members  only — (2)  Half-way  covenant — True 
view  of  the  sacraments — (3)  Worldly  churches  will  have 
worldly  ministers — Whitefield  rejected — Teachers  of  er- 
ror— (4)  Influence  of  the  Revolution — The  way  the 
tones  paid  taxes — War  no  friend  of  Christ. 

ONE  hundred  years  rolled  away,  without  one  of 
those  blessed  seasons  of  refreshing  from  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Lord,  which  has  taken  the  name  of  a 
"  revival."  The  light  of  holy  living  and  pure  faith 
went  out,  and  death  reigned  where  the  power  and 
living  beauty  of  the  faith  had  been  so  nobly  mani- 
fested, in  the  earlier  periods  of  the  annals  of  Home. 
The  fathers  slept,  and  their  sons  built  their  sepul- 
chres, but  failed  to  inherit  their  mantles  of  piety. 

The  causes  of  this  sad  change  were  many.  Some 
of  them  of  a  general  and  public  nature  ;  others  lo- 
cal, though  not  without  many  examples  elsewhere. 

The  earliest  source  of  corruption,  in  which  the 
churches  of  Home  shared,  in  common  with  many 
others,  was  one  of  the  errors  of  our  fathers.  They 
wished  to  base  their  civil  polity  entirely  on  the 


32  HOME  . 

maxims  and  principles  of  religion.  The  wish  was 
laudable ;  the  means  of  attaining  it,  an  educated, 
pious  ministry,  free,  self-governed  churches,  faith- 
ful instruction  of  their  household,  a  sanctified  Sab- 
bath, universal  free  education,  were  most  wisely 
adapted  to  the  end.  To  these,  other  measures  of  a 
more  doubtful  character  were  added.  The  most  in- 
jurious was  the  law  by  which  civil  rights  were  con- 
fined to  members  of  the  churches.  This  was  full 
of  evil,  in  every  way.  It  was  a  powerful  motive  to 
a  mere  formal  and  hypocritical  profession  of  a  faith 
in  which  the  heart  had  no  share.  As  every  mind 
was  imbued  with  the  theory  of  a  correct  faith,  and 
more  or  less  familiar  with  the  outlines  of  religious 
experience,  both  by  reading  and  from  often  listen- 
ing to  its  details  ;  such  a  hollow  profession  was  not 
very  difficult,  when  the  outward  life  of  the  candi- 
date did  not  compel  the  church  to  exclude  him. 
Indeed  such  was  the  real  respect  for  religion,  in  the 
popular  mind,  that  such  professions  did  not  always 
involve  conscious  hypocrisy.  The  worldly  motive 
gave  unconscio'us  power  to  the  effects  of  religious 
education.  So  have  I  seen  the  carefully  trained  chil- 
dren of  Christian  families  admitted  to  the  church- 
es, without  any  want  of  sincerity  or  emotion,  on 
either  part,  but  with  faint  evidence  indeed  that  the 
love  of  God  had  been  shed  abroad  in  their  hearts 
by  the  Holy  Spirit. 


HOME.  33 

So,  when  men  of  correct  lives,  wealth,  talent  and 
energy,  punctual  in  their  attention  to  the  forms  of 
religion,  sought  admission  to  the  church,  as  a  means 
of  obtaining  civil  rights,  it  became  a  very  difficult 
matter  to  exclude  them. 

Slowly,  but  certainly,  the  churches  were  filled 
with  worldly  men  ;  amiable  in  their  life,  but  with- 
out living  faith  in  the  cross. 

It  is  true,  the  civil  law  referred  to  was  repealed 
at  an  early  day.  But  the  influence  of  it  long  re- 
mained. It  was  necessary  to  a  man's  good  repute, 
and  it  smoothed  the  path  to  influence  and  honor  to 
belong  to  the  church,  long  after  the  law  ceased  to 
require  it.  No  churches  suffered  more  from  this 
cause  than  the  rich  and  intelligent  churches  of 
Home.  With  a  single  exception,  in  an  adjacent 
town,  they  were  the  first  in  the  land  to  show  the 
evil  fruits  of  it. 

At  a  somewhat  later  period  they  drank  deeply  of 
the  evils  that  flowed  from  what  is  known  as  the 
"half-way-covenant,"  by  which,  without  any  per- 
sonal profession  of  their  faith,  parents  were  allowed 
to  present  their  children  for  baptism,  and  covenant, 
before  God  and  man,  to  train  them  up  in  the  pre- 
cepts of  a  faith  whose  power  they  neither  acknow- 
ledged nor  felt,  in  their  own  souls.  This  was,  it  is 
true,  only  the  resumption  of  one  of  the  long  con- 


34  HOME. 

tinned  and  early  corruptions  of  the  church,  against 
which  the  Puritan  fathers  had  protested.  Their 
clear,  anointed  eyes  saw  the  folly  and  sin  of  the 
baptism  of  merely  nominal  Christians  and  their 
children,  as  the  persecuting  church  from  which  they 
fled  then  practised,  and  still  did.  It  was  only  a 
mockery  of  faith  for  parents  to  take  God's  name 
and  covenant  on  their  lips,  when  His  love  did  not 
fill  their  hearts. 

True,  the  eloquence  and  zeal  of  a  Stoddard  re- 
vived the  custom,  with  reference  mainly  to  another 
idea ;  but  that  was  one  of  the  most  noxious  of  the 
errors  of  the  Papal  church.  It  was,  that  the  sacra- 
ments and  offices  of  religion  had  in  themselves  a 
sanctifying  power ;  or,  at  least,  impenitent  men 
were  to  use  them  to  obtain  it ;  a  principle  which 
has  no  legitimate  application  to  anything  but  the 
hearing  of  the  word  and  prayer ;  and  to  the  last,  in 
a  restricted  sense,  only.  Indeed,  there  is  very  little 
natural  relation  between  the  symbols  of  Christianity, 
and  the  idea  we  connect  with  them,  in  the  sacra- 
ments. Anything  else  might  represent  the  body,  or 
love  of  the  dying  Saviour,  as  well  as  bread.  It  is 
chosen  because  it  is  the  commonest  article,  in  daily 
use,  that  we  may  never  eat  without  "discerning  the 
Lord's  body,"  if  our  hearts  are  filled  with  His  love. 
The  fruit  of  the  vine  has  no  possible  analogy  to 


HOME.  35 

those  spiritual  changes  in  the  affections  of  the  soul 
which  faith  in  the  atoning  blood,  or  offered  free 
pardon  of  Christ  effects.  Nor  has  the  water  of 
baptism,  applied  to  the  cleansing  of  the  body  any 
but  a  remote  analogy  to  the  changes  the  Holy  Spirit 
produces  in  the  heart,  when  love,  joy  and  peace 
take  the  place  of  selfishness,  sorrow  and  remorse. 
It  is  only  as  the  clear  intellect  and  pure  heart  dwell 
on  the  ideas  and  truths  associated  with  these  out- 
ward symbols,  that  they  have  any  more  influence  in 
sanctifying  our  nature  than  the  occupation  of  killing 
and  dressing  sheep,  bullocks  and  goats,  in  which 
the  priesthood  under  the  old  law  were  so  much 
employed.  All  these  sacrifices  and  forms  are  a 
system  of  Mnemonics,  designed  to  connect  holy  and 
sanctifying  truths  with  familiar  acts,  such  as  the 
preparation  and  use  of  articles  of  food  and  drink, 
and  the  purifying  of  the  body,  by  daily  ablutions. 
The  spiritual  heart  never  eats  bread  or  drinks  water, 
but  the  self  denying  love  that  bled  on  the  cross,  and 
the  grace  that  proffers  free  pardon  and  renovated 
affections  is  more  or  less  present  to  the  mind.  The 
sacraments  are  only  more  formal,  and  highly  ne- 
cessary and  useful  mementoes  of  the  same  truths. 
So  Christ  seeks  to  connect  himself  with  our  familiar 
acts,  that  "  every  thought  may  be  brought  into  cap- 
tivity to  the  obedience  of  Christ,"  or  regulated  by  the 


36  HOME. 

same  holy  love  that  governed  his  acts  of  suffering 
and  grace. 

The  crowd  of  these  baptized  semi-church  mem- 
bers, whose  outward  life  was  free  from  any  serious 
reproach,  and  who  constantly  attended  on  the  forms 
of  worship,  yet  never  or  seldom  were  taught  the 
value  of  piety  and  prayer  by  parental  example,  soon 
became  very  great.  Their  admission  to  the  other 
sacraments,  and  all  the  rights  of  membership,  it 
was  very  difficult  to  resist.  The  number  of  world- 
ly members  in  the  churches  became  very  great. 
From  this  class  not  a  few  were  taken  to  supply  the 
want  of  religious  teachers.  Serious,  perhaps  de- 
vout, such  men,  without  heartfelt  piety,  could  not 
be  expected  to  preach  with  fidelity  the  doctrines  of 
the  cross  by  which  the  pride  of  man  is  abased,  and 
all  his  glory  counted  as  dross.  They  did  not  A 
large  class  of  worldly  ministers  soon  filled  the  pul- 
pits. Learned,  often  eminent  for  their  talents  and 
eloquence,  they  won  the  popular  favor,  and  became, 
in  many  instances,  the  advocates  of  religious  doc- 
trines that  accorded  better  with  the  state  of  their 
own  hearts,  unrenewed  by  divine  grace,  than  with 
the  teachings  of  the  Bible. 

It  is  only  a  matter  of  justice  to  acknowledge  the 
aid  and  influence  of  our  Baptist  brethren,  in  ban- 
ishing a  second  time,  from  the  Puritan  churches 


HOME.  37 

this  child  of  English  Episcopacy  and  Popery.  Every 
sect  exercises  an  influence  in  correcting  the  errors 
of  others ;  while  important  truths  are  only  cherish- 
ed with  a  heartier  zeal. 

That  the  writings  of  Belsham,  Priestly  and  others 
had  some  influence  on  a  few  of  the  educated  men 
of  Home  is  beyond  doubt  Still,  on  tninds  not  pre- 
viously prepared  for  them,  by  the  causes  adverted 
to,  and  other  agencies  of  like  character,  they  had 
little  power.  No  reasonings  ever  led  a  truly  con- 
verted man  to  deny  the  doctrines  of  depravity  and 
regeneration.  No  arguments  against  the  Deity  and 
atonement  of  our  Saviour  ever  shook  the  faith  of 
one  who  enjoyed  daily  communion  with  him.  But 
the  reasoning  intellect  not  irradiated  by  the  love  of 
the  Spirit,  is  more  easily  led  astray. 

The  more  local  causes  of  declension  at  Home  are 
not  without  general  interest.  For  the  causes  that 
affect  the  spiritual  life  of  communities  are  much 
the  same,  everywhere. 

Almost  one  hundred  years  ago,  after  the  death  of 
a  venerable  and  faithful  pastor,  under  whose  min- 
istry the  last  "  revival"  had  occurred,  a  young  man, 
eminent  for  his  learning,  his  winning  manners,  his 
fervid  eloquence,  but  without  the  love  of  God  in 
his  heart,  became  a  candidate  for  settlement.  Won 
by  his  attractive  qualities,  more  than  usual  haste 
4 


38  HOME. 

was  made  to  engage  him  to  become  the  pastor  of 
one  of  the  churches.  Amiable  and  correct  in  his 
deportment,  this  young  man  had  imbibed  views 
approaching  as  nearly  to  Deism  as  those  of  any  of 
his  successors  in  our  time.  There  was  no  dissent 
from  doctrines  contained  in  the  creed  of  the  church, 
and  cherished  in  the  hearts  of  the  pious.  He  avoid- 
ed the  discussion  of  them,  or  else,  endeavored,  as 
he  said,  to  divest  them  of  the  needless  philosophy 
of  other  days  in  which  they  were  clothed.  Whether, 
like  some  in  our  day,  he  had  discovered  errors  in 
the  ethical  views  of  the  apostles,  I  know  not.  But 
his  preaching  was  not  such  as  the  fathers  loved. 
The  worldly  part  of  the  church  were  pleased  with 
one  who  did  not  disturb  them  with  new  demands 
on  their  affections,  in  God's  behalf.  It  was  known 
that  he  was  not  a  "  high-toned  Calvinist,"  as  spirit- 
ual men  already  began  to  be  called.  But  few  sus- 
pected that  he  did  not  believe  in  the  modified  faith 
of  the  "  moderates"  of  the  time.  His  brief  minis- 
try, brief  for  those  days,  ten  years,  was  closed  by 
his  death.  But  the  poison  distilled  so  sweetly  from 
his  lips  had  spread  widely,  and  prepared  the  way 
for  his  successor. 

Nearly  contemporary  with  him,  in  the  other 
church,  presided  one  of  the  fairest  intellects  that 
adorned  the  annals  of  New  England,  afterwards  the 


head  of  our  leading  University.  Predominant  in 
genius,  varied  and  profound  learning,  eloquence 
that  charmed  the  wisest  into,  at  least  a  momenta- 
ry forgetfulness  of  his  errors,  this  eminent  man 
united  a  deep  rooted  hostility  to  spiritual  religion, 
with  those  doctrinal  errors  by  which,  alone,  he  is 
now  widely  known  to  mankind.  He  was  the  first 
author  in  our  land  who  sought  to  shake  the  faith 
of  men  in  the  justice  of  the  retributions  of  eternity. 
Every  scholar  has  read  his  treatise,  and  the  reply  to 
it  by  the  Master  Spirit  of  that  age,  and  yet  the  hum- 
ble preacher  of  a  spiritual  faith. 

The  great  errorist  did  not  so  openly  assail  the 
other  doctrines  of  the  Bible.  He  hinted  doubts 
whether  the  depravity  of  the  heart  was  entire ; 
whether  man's  dependance  on  divine  grace  was 
complete ;  urged  more  strongly  man's  freedom  of 
action ;  and  dwelt  chiefly,  in  his  preaching,  on  the 
effects  of  religion  on  the  social  charities  of  life. 

His  eloquence  in  the  pulpit,  and  the  influence  of 
his  writings  did  very  much  to  shake  the  faith  of  the 
younger  part  of  the  people  in  Home,  and  all  the 
surrounding  country.  Two  such  eloquent  and  pop- 
ular men,  both  without  Christ  in  their  hearts,  both 
avoiding  every  doctrine  obnoxious  to  human  pride  ; 
both  learned,  commanding  the  respect  of  all  their 
generation,  might  have  made  shipwreck  of  the  faith 


40  HOME. 

of  the  people,  almost,  had  no  other  agencies  been 
at  work  for  that  end.  If  they  could  not  move  the 
matured  disciple  from  his  steadfastness,  they  might, 
and  did  prepare  a  new  race,  to  stand  in  the  room 
of  their  pious  fathers,  without  the  same  zeal  for 
pure  principles  and  holy  living.  What  lessons  are 
these  of  the  need  of  looking  first  for  holiness,  next 
for  soundness  in  the  faith  of  those  to  whom  we  en- 
trust the  care  of  souls  !  I  speak  of  both  of  these 
men  as  without  spirituality.  An  unconverted  min- 
ister, in  that  age,  was  not  very  rare,  as  the  records 
of  the  times  too  certainly  prove.  The  churches, 
grown  worldly,  sought  and  found  pastors  after  their 
own  hearts,  and  those  who  avoided  the  "  offence  of 
the  cross"  voted  themselves  the  "enlightened," 
the  "  liberal  party  "  of  their  day.  Endowed  with  in- 
tellectual resources,  many  of  them  were  above  their 
fellows.  But  their  wisdom  was  that  of  "  this  world," 
which  is  "  foolishness  with  God." 

One  fact  deserves  mention,  both  as  an  instance 
and  a  proof  of  the  feelings  of  the  great  man.  No 
one  now  doubts — whatever  may  be  his  creed — that 
Wesley  and  Whitefield  were  "  chosen  vessels  "  of 
mercy  to  revive  spiritual  life  in  the  Protestant  world. 
The  one  founded  a  community,  tireless  in  their  be- 
neficent labors  for  the  good  of  man.  The  other, 
though  he  gave  his  name  to  no  sect,  exerted  per- 


HOME.  41 

haps  a  wider  influence,  by  his  preaching,  in  reviv- 
ing the  life  of  religion  in  all  sects.  His  sermons 
were  not  very  logical  or  didactic.  But  with  an  el- 
oquence never  surpassed,  and  a  pathos  that  moved 
the  heart,  "  day  and  night,  with  tears  "  he  preached 
the  simple  and  majestic  doctrines  of  redemption. 
The  worldly  ministers  and  churches  resisted  bis  la- 
bors. But  to  all  who  received  him,  God  made  him 
the  source  of  the  richest  spiritual  gifts.  The  pas- 
tors of  Home  not  only  refused  to  receive  White- 
field,  or  bid  him  God  speed  !  but  took  the  lead  in 
the  remonstrances  of  the  worldly  lovers  of  ease 
against  his  labors. 

Such  a  "  comet "  was  not  to  be  suffered.  Such 
"  excitements  crazed  men,"  instead  of  imbuing  their 
minds  with  "  rational  views  of  religion."  The  peo- 
ple followed  the  example  of  their  pastors,  and  the  pall 
of  spiritual  death  gathered  more  darkly  over  them. 

The  creeds  of  the  churches  were  still  adhered  to 
in  form;  and  sounder  models  of  a  saving  faith  are 
seldom  to  be  found ;  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  at 
this  period,  one  half  the  people  believed  them. 

I  shall  not  confine  myself  to  precise  dates  or  the 
order  of  events.  The  war  of  the  Revolution  follow- 
ed, preceded  by  years  of  bloody  struggle  with  the 
French  and  Indians,  in  which  many  a  soldier  from 
Home  gallantly  discharged  a  soldier's  duty. 
4* 


42  HOME. 

War  is  the  scourge  of  God,  with  which  he  chas- 
tises guilty  nations.  When  waged  for  the  noblest 
objects,  to  obtain  or  preserve  civil,  personal  or  re- 
ligious liberty,  it  is  still  a  fearful  curse.  It  substi- 
tutes the  law  of  force  for  the  rules  of  right  and  jus- 
tice. It  sanctions  every  disregard  of  the  rights  of 
mankind,  given  them  by  God  their  Creator,  in  or- 
der to  inflict  the  greatest  possible  evils  on  those 
whom  we  are  bound  to  love  as  our  brethren,  and 
to  benefit  as  the  sons  of  one  father.  Property,  pu- 
rity, honor,  life,  all  fall  a  sacrifice  to  its  power.  And 
no  man  can  inflict  such  evils  upon  another  without 
diminishing  in  his  own  heart,  the  sense  of  the  sa- 
cred nature  of  the  obligation  to  respect  all  these,  in 
all  men.  God  never  made  one  man  or  nation  to  be 
the  enemy  of  another.  Wars  and  fightings  are  the 
product  of  "  lusts,"  wicked  passions  alone.  The 
"  religious  "  wars  that  followed  the  Reformation  al- 
most destroyed  the  immediate  spiritual  benefits  of 
that  great  awakening  of  the  human  soul  to  light  and 
pardon.  Our  own  Revolution,  though  exempt  from 
some  of  the  evils  that  have  followed  in  the  train  of 
war,  brought  curses  as  well  as  blessings  with  it  I 
speak  not  of  the  sacking  and  burning  of  towns,  the 
plundering  of  the  hamlet  and  farm,  the  waste  of 
life  and  vast  loss  of  property  in  other  forms.  All 
these  are  evils  that  pass  away  in  half  a  generation, 


HOME  .  43 

and  are  forgotten.  But  the  moral  results  of  that 
contest  were  not  all  such  as  the  patriot  and  the 
Christian  could  desire. 

The  French  soldiery  brought  with  them  the 
coarse,  brutal,  hut  witty  infidelity  then  rife  in  their 
native  land.  Multitudes  of  our  youth,  and  even 
eminent  statesmen  were  carried  away  captive  by 
the  ridicule  of  Voltaire,  the  eloquence  of  Rosseau, 
and  the  sophisms  of  Bayle,  Diderot,  D'Alembertand 
their  co-laborers  in  the  bold  attempt  to  "crush  the 
wretch,"  as  the  shallow  wit  of  Fermay  dared  to  call 
that  Glorious  One  "  in  whom  dwelleth  all  the  full- 
ness of  the  Godhead,  bodily." 

Despite  the  efforts  of  Washington  to  repress  both, 
profane  swearing  and  intemperance  became  com- 
mon in  the  army,  among  both  officers  and  soldiers. 
It  is  said  that  a  profane  oath  was  never  known,  in 
Home,  before  the  war.  The  vice  became  frequent, 
on  the  return  of  the  soldiers.  Home  was  a  patriot- 
ic town.  She  supplied  more  soldiers  to  the  army 
than  any  town  in  the  country,  in  proportion  to  the 
population.  The  bones  of  her  sons  repose  in  every 
battls-field,  from  Bunker  Hill  to  Yorktowu.  But  of 
those  who  survived,  alas,  many  returned  to  scourge 
their  families  by  their  intemperance,  and  defile  the 
ears  of  their  children  by  their  curses.  The  young 
are  eager  imitators.  Their  nature  is  seen  in  the 


44  HOME. 

readiness  with  which  they  run,  not  walk,  in  the 
road  that  leads  to  death.  The  generation  that  fol- 
lowed learned  a  full  measure  of  these  pernicious 
ways. 

As  the  bitterness  of  that  contest  has  long  since 
passed  away,  and  the  descendants  of  whig  and  to- 
ry  alike  enjoy  and  rejoice  in  the  blessings  of  equal 
liberty,  we  can  afford  to  do  justice  to  those  who 
were  then  spoken  of  as  "  enemies  of  their  country," 
I  mean  the  tories.  It  is  beyond  question  true,  that 
many  of  the  wisest,  purest,  most  pious,  liberty-lov- 
ing men  of  that  age  opposed  the  war,  from  its  be- 
ginning to  its  close.  Some  few  really  preferred  a 
monarchy.  Among  the  patriot  statesmen,  after  the 
war,  even,  such  a  party  existed !  Many  more  were 
averse  to  severing  the  ties  that  bound  them  to  the 
mother  country,  at  least,  till  oppression  took  forms 
less  capable  of  endurance.  Some  did  not  see  why 
subjects  who  claimed  the  rights  secured  by  the 
Common  Law  of  England,  should  not  be  governed 
by  the  authority  of  the  king  and  parliament  who 
were  the  public  ministers  of  that  law.  Others  were 
men  of  peace,  hating  and  dreading  civil  strife  ;  but, 
when  it  was  over,  quite  ready  to  enjoy  its  results. 

The  tories  had  one  of  two  courses  before  them, 
when  Independence  was  once  declared.  They 
must  abandon  their  homes,  and  all  their  property 


HOME.  45 

they  could  not  carry  with  them,  and  enlist  in  the 
British  army,  or  flee  to  foreign  lands  ;  or  else,  they 
must  remain  in  quiet,  waiting  for  the  event,  and 
submitting  to  all  the  exactions  of  their  more  patri- 
otic brethren.  And  it  is  capable  of  ample  proof, 
that  the  whigs  made  their  tory  neighbors  pay  far 
more  than  their  share  of  all  the  expenses  of  a  war 
opposed  both  to  their  principles  and  wishes. 

Nearly  an  hundred  of  the  most  substantial  farm- 
ers of  Home  were  tories,  in  feeling.  The  town  re- 
cords show  that,  at  one  time,  as  many  as  sixty  were 
placed  under  the  special  surveillance  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Safety ;  the  helpless  lamb  in  the  lion's 
mouth  was  not  more  sure  of  being  made  a  victim ! 
It  is  amusing  to  read  over  the  doings  of  our  patriot- 
ic sires !  Large  requisitions  often  came  from  Head 
Quarters  for  supplies  for  the  troops.  Was  clothing 
wanting  for  the  naked  soldiers  at  Valley  Forge  ? 
The  Committee  of  Safety  discovered  that  their  tory 
brethren  had  sheared  more  sheep,  and  woven  more 
cloth,  by  far,  than  the  whigs.  Were  provisions 
needed  ?  Every  one  knew  that  the  tones'  crops 
were  better  than  those  of  their  neighbors' !  They 
had  nothing  else  to  do,  but  to  till  the  ground !  Was 
money  wanted  to  pay  the  valiant  defenders  of  their 
country  ?  The  whigs  were  ready  to  sacrifice  life, 
but  they,  the  tories,  had  such  hordes  of  English 


46  HOME. 

gold !  So,  in  all  cases,  the  requisition  was  met,  in 
chief,  by  levying  contributions  on  the  defenceless 
lories.  "  It  was  but  just  that  the  enemies  of  the  lib- 
erties of  the  people  should  be  made  to  pay  for  their 
want  of  patriotism."  Much  as  our  whig  fathers  and 
mothers  sacrificed  on  the  altar  of  their  country,  no 
one,  who  has  looked  into  the  local  annals  of  that 
time  can  doubt  that  the  resident  tories  were  taxed 
far  more  for  the  expenses  of  the  war.  They  would 
not  peril  limb  or  life  ;  but  in  every  other  form  they 
must  serve  their  country !  Happily,  the  grandson 
of  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Safety — the  tax 
levying  power  of  that  day — can  sit  with  the  grand- 
child of  the  then  tory,  and  smile  at  the  deeds  of '76, 
and  rejoice  in  the  freedom  secured  both  by  the  per- 
ils and  trials  of  the  time.  But  the  disregard  of  the 
common  laws  and  rights  of  property,  and  the  feel- 
ings of  good  neighborhood  and  social  life  was  not 
without  effect  in  hastening  the  decay  of  piety,  where 
its  fires  already  burned  so  dim.  Alienations,  jeal- 
ousies, revenge,  remembered  scorn  and  party  bit- 
terness, the  inevitable  fruits  of  civil  strife,  are  not 
found  in  the  catalogue  of  the  graces  of  the  Spirit. 
The  public  mind  was  so  entirely  absorbed  in  the 
great  conflict,  that  even  the  forms  of  Sabbath  wor- 
ship were  often  forgotten,  and  family  prayer  omit- 
ted in  many  a  dwelling,  whose  heads  were  fighting 


HOME.  47 

their  country's  battles,  or  maddened  by  whig  taxes 
to  support  a  cause  they  hated. 

Down  to  the  beginning  of  that  war,  hardly  a  fam- 
ily or  an  individual  was  ever  needlessly  absent  from 
public  worship.  In  almost  every  house,  certainly 
in  all  those  of  church-members,  social  worship  and 
the  instruction  of  the  young  were  not  neglected. 
"  Oh  yes,  I  larri't  all  that,  in  my  young  days,"  was 
the  remark  of  an  aged,  and  profane  woman  to  me, 
when  I  reproved  her  for  her  sins.  "  We  all  larn't 
the  catechise,  in  them  days,  and  said  it  to  our  min- 
ister ;  but  I  never  was  much  the  better  for  it"  It 
was  too  true.  Her  father,  after  fighting  his  country's 
battles,  died  a  drunkard.  I  would  not  have  the 
reader  think  that  such  inelegant  phrases  are  com- 
mon in  Home.  They  are  very  rare.  But  I  often 
think  of  that  old  woman — one  who  was  very  kind 
to  me  in  childhood, — as  one  of  the  sorrowful  results 
of  the  want  of  an  example  of  the  power  of  religion 
in  the  parents,  before  the  eyes  of  the  young — one 
of  the  kindest  hearts  God  ever  made  in  a  woman's 
breast  was  embittered  against  the  truth  by  a  drunk- 
en father's  influence.  Of  all  the  scores  of  our  pa- 
triot soldiers,  I  can  recall  but  four  or  five  who  died 
with  the  Christian's  hope.  Oh  how  many  went 
down  to  the  dark,  dishonored  grave  of  the  drunkard ! 
And  few  of  the  first  generation  of  their  descend- 


48 


ants  showed  any  more  proofs  of  spiritual  life.  From 
the  grosser  evils  of  war  Home  was  happily  exempt; 
but  its  moral  desolations  were  deeply  felt,  and  there 
was  less  of  the  power  of  religion,  than  in  many 
places,  to  resist  them.  Too  grateful  to  our  fathers, 
we  cannot  be,  for  the  legacy  of  freedom  they  left 
us.  But  that  should  not  close  our  eyes  to  the  evils 
of  warfare,  even  to  obtain  blessings  so  great  Let 
us  learn  the  lesson — so  debasing  to  the  glory  of  fall- 
en man,  that  a  warlike  people  will  certainly  become 
depraved  in  morals.  The  highest  glories  are  those 
of  peace.  When  the  world's  history  is  reviewed  at 
the  Judgment,  and  re-written  in  the  future  life,  the 
man  of  peace  will  take  the  place  of  the  soldier  as 
the  only  real  benefactor  of  his  kind.  Hasten,  O 
Lord,  that  day,  when, 

"  No  war,  nor  battle's  sound, 
Is  heard  the  earth  around," 

but  Christ,  the  Prince  of  Peace  shall  reign  over  a 
world  of  holy  hearts ! 


HOME. 


49 


CHAPTER    III. 

Like  people,  like  priest — The  worldly  pastor  described — 
The  deist  in  the  pulpit — Church  discipline  neglected — 
Religions  ideas  lost — The  heart  wiser  than  the  intellect 
— The  deacon's  faith — Pure  faith  connected  with  pros- 
perity— The  ball. 

A  WORLDLY  flock  will  not  have  a  spiritual  shep- 
herd. Those  who  love  sin  do  not  love  to  be  re- 
proved for  it,  nor  will  they,  commonly,  bear  it,  un- 
less the  reproofs  of  the  faithful  pastor  are  enforced 
by  examples  of  holy  living,  and  his  hands  are  stay- 
ed up  by  fervent  prayer. 

Not  far  from  the  close  of  the  French  War,  a  pas- 
tor was  settled  in  one  of  our  churches,  who  was 
eminent  for  almost  everything  but  fidelity  to  a  pas- 
tor's proper  duties.  A  patriot  he  was ;  none  loved 
his  country  better ;  none  more  ready  to  serve  her 
and  exhort  others  to  do  so,  in  the  hour  of  her  peril. 
A  statesman  was  he ;  none  were  more  capable  of 
sound  judgment  respecting  the  measures  of  gov- 
ernment; few  more  decided  in  the  expression  of 
their  views.  A  gentleman,  in  manners ;  dignified, 
courteous,  refined,  at  least  in  his  earlier  life  ;  amia- 
5 


50  HOME. 

ble  in  bis  manners  and  feelings.  A  scholar ;  few 
wore  the  honors  of  their  Alma  Mater  with  a  better 
grace ;  he  deserved  them.  A  wit ;  the  country 
round,  to  the  end  of  time,  will  remember  his  dry 
jests,  his  proverbial  sayings,  often  full  of  point  and 
practical  wisdom.  A  farmer  ;  his  sermons  on  ag- 
riculture, on  soils,  on  the  culture  of  fruit,  on  bees, 
on  cattle  and  sheep,  on  every  interest  of  the  hus- 
bandman, would  do  honor  to  the  orator  of  a  Cattle 
Fair.  They  were  of  much  service  to  the  labor  of 
the  town.  He  ever  inculcated  industry  as  the 
highest  of  social  virtues.  It  does  save  multitudes 
from  sin  who  would  perish  in  it,  if  they  lived  an 
idle  life. 

He  was  social  in  his  habits ;  a  good  companion 
to  the  young  and  old  was  the  pastor ;  none  more  so. 
Every  one  welcomed  him,  for  they  expected  in- 
struction or  amusement,  but — fatal  defect ! — not  a 
reproof  for  their  sinful  life,  or  a  warning  to  repent. 
He  had  a  fund  of  common  sense ;  no  better  coun- 
seller  could  be  found  in  the  affairs  of  life,  none  was 
resorted  to  with  so  much  confidence.  He  was  re- 
spected and  loved,  but  not  for  his  fidelity  to  the 
souls  of  his  people. 

That  he  believed  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity, 
his  papers  show.  But  he  held  it  to  be  too  myste- 
rious to  preach  upon  it.  Selfish,  he  knew  men  to 


HOME.  51 

he ;  some  of  his  keenest  maxims  are  hits  at  man's 
natural  tendency  to  sin.  But  no  faithful  picture  of 
our  fallen  nature,  no  warning  to  "  flee  from  the 
wrath  to  come,"  fell  from  his  lips.  He  used  to  say 
that  his  "  young  people  were  very  good  ;  he  should 
not  trouble  them  with  the  doctrine  of  a  new  birth  ; 
he  would  be  bound  for  them !"  The  atoning  Sa- 
viour he  did  not  know,  the  cross  he  did  not  preach. 
True,  he  never  derided  the  great  Hope  of  the  guilty ; 
but  he  allowed  a  whole  generation  to  live  without 
that  Hope. 

He  was  an  acute  judge  and  delineator  of  char- 
acter. His  funeral  prayers  contained  a  minute 
sketch  of  the  deceased  person's  life,  and  a  shrewd, 
often  very  humorous  delineation  of  his  virtues  and 
foibles,  and  even  of  his  manners  and  personal  pe- 
culiarities. Crowds  attended  his  funeral  services 
to  hear  this  treat ;  a  scene  sometimes  painful  to 
those  who  were  not  his  friends.  It  was  commonly 
said  that  he  "  prayed  all  his  people  into  heaven," 
though  it  was  sometimes  dryly  added,  "  he  had  very 
hard  work  with  such  an  one !"  There  was  no  rever- 
ence, no  humility  in  bis  prayers ;  and  people  forgot 
the  solemnity  of  an  approach  to  the  throne  of  God. 

The  catechetical  instruction  of  the  young  he  laid 
aside,  on  the  plea  that  it  was  not  suited  for  their  tender 
minds.  Nor  did  he  ever  substitute  any  other  form 


of  imparting  the  truths  of  the  gospel  to  them.  The 
young  treasured  up  his  proverbs,  but  these  had  lit- 
tle to  do  with  Christ  or  the  way  of  life.  At  his 
death,  there  was  not  one  young  person,  of  either 
sex,  belonging  to  his  church !  The  use  of  the 
creed  was  finally  laid  aside,  in  the  admission  of 
members.  Persons  of  good  moral  life,  were  never 
objected  to  as  members,  because  they  had  not  been 
born  of  the  Spirit.  All  inquiries  into  the  state  of 
their  hearts  ceased.  It  was  customary,  in  the  re- 
spectable circles,  to  unite  with  the  church  on  the 
occasion  of  marriage,  the  birth  of  children,  or  in 
seasons  of  affliction.  It  was  respectable  to  do  so. 
Still,  the  members  of  the  church  constantly  lessen- 
ed, till  few  remained  who  had  not  reached  middle 
life.  Gradually  it  ceased  to  be  expected  that  mem- 
bers of  the  church  would  maintain  family  worship, 
on  week  days,  or  at  alL  At  a  more  recent  period  I 
can  well  remember  when  only  two  of  that  church 
ever  prayed  in  public,  or  in  their  families.  But  one 
ehurch  officer  did  so. 

The  pastor  visited  his  people  ;  the  wealthy,  edu- 
cated, and  refined,  often  ;  but  nearly  all  once  a  year. 
But  the  objects  of  pastoral  visits,  the  instruction  of 
the  family,  and  the  acquaintance  with  the  spiritual 
wants  of  the  individual  members  of  it,  personal  ex- 
hortation to  holy  living,  and  even  prayer  were  for- 


53 


gotten.  As  he  advanced  in  life,  many  ceased  to  be 
visited  at  all.  In  his,  and  his  successor's  time,  some 
families  could  say,  "no  minister  has  entered  our 
house  for  thirty  years,  save  at  a  wedding  or  a  fu- 
neral." 

As  pastoral  visits  ceased  or  lost  their  appropriate 
character,  the  people  began  very  extensively  to^  neg- 
lect public  worship,  save  at  intervals,  that  grew 
more  and  more  rare.  When  the  pastor  ceased  to 
teach  the  young,  parents  soon  followed  the  evil  ex- 
ample. Family  worship,  and  family  instruction 
became  almost  equally  rare.  The  poor,  and  the 
distant  members  of  the  flock,  not  attracted  by  the 
preaching  of  the  cross,  or  warned  by  a  faithful 
pastor,  ceased  to  frequent  the  house  of  God. 

In  the  other  church,  the  like  causes  had  pro- 
duced to  some  extent,  the  same  results,  though  a 
spiritual  pastor  had  succeeded  the  great  teacher  of 
error,  and  his  labors  had  fanned  awhile  the  decay- 
ing spark  of  holiness. 

Thus  lived  and  died  a  whole  generation  who 
"  knew  not  the  Lord,"  with  few  exceptions.  There 
was  very  little  positive  error  prevalent,  at  the  close 
of  this  period  ;  none  in  an  active  or  organized  form, 
to  deceive  the  simple.  There  was  not  enough  of 
spiritual  truth  exhibited  to  alarm  the  corrupt  heart, 
and  lead  it  to  seek  any  theoretical  "  refuge  of  lies" 
5* 


54  HOME. 

to  soothe  the  awakened  conscience.  The  pastors  to 
whom  I  listened  in  my  childhood  were  little  calcu- 
lated to  restore  the  lost  soul  of  religion,  the  spirit 
of  love.  They  are  both  in  their  graves,  in  their 
eternity.  I  loved  them  both,  I  loved  their  children, 
I  would  speak  of  them  with  tenderness.  But  were 
they  Gol's  ministers?  One  of  them  was  a  man 
amiable  in  his  social  character,  gentle  in  his  man- 
ners, a  lover  of  children.  Respectable  as  a  preach- 
er, he  rather  alluded  to,  than  uttered  the  truths  of 
religion,  which  yet  he  did  not  really  mean  to  de- 
ny. Probably,  till  near  the  close  of  life,  he  lived 
without  piety  in  his  own  soul.  Still,  those  who 
preferred  preaching  more  directly  addressed  to  the 
conscience,  and  that  which  approached  nearer  to 
the  good  old  gospel  of  salvation,  preferred  him  to 
his  co-laborer.  There  was  not  enough  of  vital 
power  to  rekindle  the  flame  of  pure  religion ;  not 
enough  of  error  or  obvious  want  of  truth  to  destroy 
the  piety  that  other  causes  had  iaduced.  Of  the 
other,  it  was  once  said,  that  his  head  was  a  huge 
lumber  garret,  full 'of  every  kind  of  learning,  which 
he  lacked  the  skill  to  use.  A  poet  by  nature,  his 
sermons  were  often  beautiful ;  solemn  they  never 
were.  Elegant  in  person,  and,  when  he  chose,  in 
manners  also,  his  pride  made  him  unsocial  with  the 
poor  and  obscure  of  the  flock.  Visits,  save  to  a 


HOME.  55 

few  favorites  among  the  wealthy,  he  never  made. 
Few  believed  that  he  prayed  in  secret  His  pub- 
lic prayers  were  well  described  by  a  rude  but  clear 
headed  laborious  man,  as  "  very  handsome  com- 
pliments to  the  Almighty."  I  have  listened  to  the 
prayers  of  men  of  every  sect.  It  is  often  said  that 
men  will  pray  the  truths  they  deny  in  their  preach- 
ing. Not  so  with  him.  1  never  knew  another  man 
in  whose  prayers  there  was  so  little  recognition  of 
sin,  our  dependence,  need  of  mercy,  a  Saviour,  or 
a  possible  future  retribution.  With  him,  the  Sa- 
viour was  a  man,  simply ;  a  good  one,  though 
not  free  from  imperfections  in  judgment  or  opin- 
ion. The  writings  of  the  apostles  were  imper- 
fect records  of  a  gospel,  which  we  were  to  be- 
lieve or  reject,  as  their  statement  accorded  with 
our  own  reason  and  advanced  state  of  know- 
ledge. No  sacrifice  for  sin  was  needed.  The  good- 
ness of  God  would  overlook  our  imperfections,  the 
result  of  weakness,  more  than  intention.  The 
heart  was  not  depraved,  but  pure  by  nature,  as  an 
angel's;  and  needed  only  an  appropriate  educa- 
tion to  fit  it  to  mingle  with  them,  if,  indeed,  there 
were  angels.  To  be  "  born  again,"  was  to  renounce 
heathenism,  or  Judaism.  It  applied  to  none  in 
Christian  lands,  save  those  of  openly  immoral  life. 
If  there  was  any  hell,  there  was  no  devil !  It  was 


56  HOME. 

often  said  that  our  minister  "  had  preached  the 
devil  out  of  town,"  though  few  exactly  believed  it ! 
Eternal  punishment  was  derided,  the  atonement 
scoffed  at,  pretences  to  spiritual  life  scorned,  evan- 
gelical faith  habitually  treated  as  a  pitiable  weak- 
ness, or  fond  superstition.  Such  were  the  les- 
sons of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  To  such 
lessons  I  listened  in  my  childhood.  The  doctrines 
he  derided  were  never  clearly  stated ;  so  that  the 
people,  having  no  other  source  of  knowledge,  were 
prejudiced  against  truths,  the  nature  and  import  of 
which  few  of  them  knew.  It  is  no  strange  thing 
that  the  churches  became  quite  small. 

In  all  this  period,  church  discipline  was  utterly 
neglected.  I  can  recall  openly  profane,  drunken, 
lascivious  persons,  and  those  not  in  obscure  life, 
who  were  quietly  tolerated  in  the  church.  Indeed, 
I  remember  hearing  a  sermon  in  which  the  right  to 
define  the  terms  of  membership  was  ridiculed. 
The  practice  and  theory  accorded  well.  The  his- 
tory of  the  church  is  everywhere  full  of  warning 
to  fidelity  in  discipline.  Who  would  respect  a 
church,  when  its  richest  member  was  openly  al- 
leged, without  denial,  to  be  an  immoral  man  ?  Why 
care  about  belonging  to  a  church,  when  there  was 
no  recognized  difference,  in  life,  spirit,  or  future  hopes, 
between  those  who  were,  and  those  who  were  not 


HOME.  57 

members  of  it  ?  Where  a  church  is  kept  pure,  by 
faithful  discipline,  and  the  power  of  a  living  faith, 
it  assimilates  to  its  own  purity  the  world  around  it. 
The  same  high  tone  of  morals  that  reigns  within, 
will  also  prevail  around  it,  to  the  extent  of  its  in- 
fluence. But  where  discipline  casts  no  immoral 
person  out  of  the  church,  the  power  of  the  church 
to  purify  the  world  is  lost 

I  have  often  been  struck  with  the  dearth  of  re- 
ligious ideas,  in  communities  situated  as  Home  once 
was.  Even  the  highly  cultivated  and  literary,  un- 
der such  influences,  have  often  not  the  least  ac- 
quaintance with  truths  familiar  to  the  children  of  a 
Christian  household.  One  of  the  most  intellectual 
women  of  Home,  one  not  unknown  in  the  litera- 
ture of  the  country,  once  wished  me  to  explain 
what  "  we,"  (Christians) "  meant  by  atonement  She 
had  never  kuown  what  ideas  we  attached  to  it" 
She  was  once  a  member  of  a  church.  But  when, 
as  sometimes  happens,  the  Holy  Spirit  begins  to 
teach  persons  so  trained,  and  to  open  their  eyes  to 
a  perception  of  spiritual  things,  the  struggle  of  the 
mind  with  its  own  ignorance  and  errors  is  curious, 
as  well  as  painful.  Conversing,  once,  with  one  of 
the  purest  minds  that  adorn  our  land — a  mind  so 
trained,  but  taught  in  heart,  by  the  Spirit,  to  an  ex- 
tent far  beyond  her  intellectual  perceptions  of  the 


58  HOME. 

truth,  I  saw  evident  proofs  that  the  Life  of  God 
was  begun  in  the  soul.  The  spirit  and  power  of 
Love  was  there.  Self-denial  was  familiar.  There 
was  a  deep  sense,  a  personal  conviction  of  inward 
depravity,  that  no  teaching  of  man's  native  purity 
could  shake.  The  worldly  and  spiritual  were  clear- 
ly discerned.  The  doctrinal  views  of  Christ  were 
very  defective.  There  was  a  feeling  of  dependance 
on  him,  without  any  distinct  knowledge  of  its  ne- 
cessity. Said  I,  "  do  you  not,  when  you  enjoy  pray- 
er and  communion  with  God,  feel  such  a  love  for, 
and  reliance  on  Christ,  as  you  know  you  ought  not 
to  feel  on  any  save  the  Infinite  God  ?"  There  was 
an  agitated  pause.  "  Yes,"  she  said,  "  and  it  has 
often  troubled  me,  to  reconcile  my  theory  with  my 
heart."  The  heart,  taught  of  God,  was  right ;  the 
theory,  received  from  the  teachers  of  error,  was 
wrong.  With  others,  hearing  only  error,  and  not 
taught  of  the  Spirit,  the  ideas  of  the  gospel  are  all 
novelties.  With  the  Bible  in  their  hands,  and, 
sometimes  read,  they  seem  utterly  unacquainted 
with  its  principles.  It  struck  me  with  astonishment, 
once,  in  preaching  in  such  a  community,  to  see 
how  the  most  familiar  truths  had  all  the  force  of 
novelties.  It  requires  years  of  labor  to  make  an 
adult  mind,  so  trained  to  be  ignorant,  acquainted 
with  the  truths  a  little  child  easily  learns  and  often 


HOME.  59 

loves.  The  worthy  deacon  who  "  believed  as  the 
minister  did,"  but  was  not  sure  what  the  minister 
believed,  is  no  unapt  representative  of  this  class  of 
men.  Thougli  I  am  concerned  chiefly  with  the 
moral  and  spiritual  results  of  the  declension,  there 
are  other  features  that  have  forcibly  struck  me. 
True  religion  is  eminently  favorable  both  to  indus- 
try and  enlarged  enterprise.  Its  great  truths  give 
vigor  to  the  mind,  and  fit  it  for  success  in  worldly 
pursuits.  For  twenty  years  our  young  men,  if  they 
had  any  higher  enterprise  or  ambition,  left  Home 
for  other,  often  distant  places.  Few  of  this  class 
remained  ;  not  enough  to  supply  the  places  of  the 
fathers.  I  can  count  up  almost  twenty  old  family 
mansions,  inhabited  for  two  hundred  years,  that 
have  decayed  from  this  cause.  For  an  equal  pe- 
riod a  visible  decline  in  agriculture  was  noticed. 
Good  farms  lying  uncultivated  were  not  rare. 

On  a  revival  of  the  early  faith,  both  the  agricul- 
tural prosperity  of  the  town  returned,  and  the  ac- 
tive youth  began  to  settle  in  Home ;  till,  at  last,  in 
one  section  of  it,  a  village,  for  the  first  time  in  its 
history  sprang  up  ;  a  village  evidently  gathered  as 
the  fruit  of  a  purer  religion.  The  connection  be- 
tween a  pure  faith  and  worldly  prosperity  is  not 
unknown  to  wicked  men.  I  know  another  town, 
where  some  men  who  were  bitterly  hostile  to  the 


60 


truths  of  the  Bible  were  consulting  about  measures 
to  increase  the  value  of  their  property.  Their  vil- 
lage seemed  about  to  decay.  Valuable  inhabitants 
were  retained  in  their  employment  with  difficulty. 
"  We  must  have  a  church,  said  one."  It  was 
agreed  to  by  all.  "What  shall  it  be?"  was  the 
next  inquiry.  On  mature  deliberation  they  decid- 
ed to  have  a  thoroughly  evangelical  church,  as  best 
adapted  to  secure  an  industrious,  pure,  refined  com- 
munity, increase  its  members,  and  so,  ensure  the 
enhanced  value  of  their  property.  They  have  not 
been  disappointed  in  the  result.  And  some  of  them, 
who,  in  enmity  to  the  Saviour,  thus  acknowledged 
his  power  to  benefit  mankind,  have  since  learned 
the  value  of  his  grace  in  their  own  hearts. 

Return  we  to  the  darker  shades  of  the  picture. 
A  fact  occurring  at  a  later  date  illustrates  the  state 
of  spiritual  death  such  causes  produce.  There  is 
no  more  evil  in  dancing  than  in  jumping  the  rope, 
in  itself  The  abuses  of  it  have  armed  pure  church- 
es so  generally  against  it.  But  it  is  a  characteristic 
of  a  dead  faith,  that  no  difference  of  life  or  spirit  is 
expected  when  persons  unite  with  the  church.  A 
young  and  tenderly  conscientious  girl  made  a  pro- 
fession of  her  faith.  The  thanksgiving  ball,  with  its 
midnight  revelry,  occurred  soon  after,  just  before 
the  communion  day.  She  was  invited  to  attend. 


HOME.  61 

"  Shall  I  go  ?"  she  asked  one  of  the  oldest  members 
of  the  church.  "  Certainly  ;  it  would  be  foolish  to 
decline.  Religion  interferes  with  none  of  our 
pleasures."  In  one  sense  it  is  so.  It  requires  us  to 
lay  aside  nothing,  which,  on  the  whole,  is  a  source 
of  enjoyment,  at  least  without  supplying  far  higher 
and  purer  sources  of  happiness  in  its  stead.  I  never 
heard,  in  the  old  churches  of  Home,  any  difference 
between  the  characters  of  men  ascribed  to  their 
profession  of  the  faith  of  the  gospel,  as  it  was  then 
preached.  And  there  was  no  reason  to  do  so ! 
Our  Lord  told  the  disciples,  that  the  world  would 
hate  them.  "  If  ye  were  of  the  world,  the  world 
would  love  his  own.  But  because  ye  are  not  of  the 
world,  therefore  the  world  hateth  you."  The  amia- 
ble qualities  of  the  Christian  are  fitted  to  win  the 
love  of  worldly  persons.  But  when  the  difference 
of  principle  and  spirit  becomes  so  small  that  the 
Christian  or  professed  disciple's  life  ceases  to  re- 
prove sin,  there  is  no  ground  for  alienation.  The 
most  determined  lover  of  sin  need  not  hate  such  dis- 
ciples. But  the  holy  are  like  the  refiner's  fire. 
Their  very  presence  is  a  restraint  on  sinful  thoughts, 
feelings  and  conduct,  such  as  wicked  men  cannot 
well  endure.  As  all  barriers  to  membership  were 
laid  aside,  any  one  who  wished  could  become  a 
church  member,  whose  conscience  did  not,  after 
6 


62  HOME. 

all,  whisper  the  need  of  some  fitness  he  did  not 
possess  to  approach  the  table  of  the  Lord.  Even 
when  the  pastor  invited  some  to  unite,  conscience 
led  them  to  refuse.  And  though  the  church 
danced  at  the  midnight  ball,  not  a  few  disliked  to 
see  the  minister  there,  even  as  a  looker  on.  u  It 
did  not  seem  right."  The  office  reproved  their 
folly,  long  after  the  teachings  or  holy  living  of  the 
man  who  filled  it  ceased  to  do  so.  "  Stop  sinning ; 
the  minister  is  coming,"  should  be  the  result  of 
his  approach.  And  when  he  lives  the  life  of  faith 
on  the  son  of  God,  his  very  shadow,  like  that  of 
Peter,  shall  check  the  spiritual  disease  of  the  fallen 
soul.  His  voice,  though  melting  with  tender  love, 
shall  reprove  with  more  power  than  the  earth- 
quake's terror,  or  the  whirlwind's  rage. 


63 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  shades  grow  darker — Pulpit  exchanges  with  error- 
ists — No  social  prayer — The  closet  forgotten — Neglect 
of  worship — The  Sabbath  desecrated — Covetousness, 
•which  is  idolatry :  examples. 

WHETHER  the  elders  of  the  present  race  of  our 
pastors  were  wise  in  refusing  to  exchange  pulpit 
services  with  the  teachers  of  error,  many  doubted. 
It  was  needful  to  show  men  that  such  teachers 
were  not  recognized  as  ministers  of  Christ.  And 
outward  conduct  impresses  most  men  far  more  than 
mere  words.  But  it  is  certain  that  this  non-inter- 
course sealed  the  spiritual  death  of  many  churches 
in  which  a  "  little  strength"  remained.  Their  pas- 
tors deemed  themselves  insulted  ;  the  people  pitied, 
sympathized  with  them;  and  then,  shut  up  to  their 
lifeless  teachings,  they  refused  to  hear  the  words  of 
life  at  all.  Many  towns  became,  at  once,  mission- 
ary ground,  in  which  it  was  harder  to  find  a  place 
to  utter  saving  truth  than  in  the  towns  of  Hindostau. 
The  bitterness  of  religious  strife  entered  social  life, 
and  friends  could  no  longer  speak  to  friends  of 
Christ  and  God  without  rousing  every  baleful  pas- 


64  HOME. 

sion.  The  darkest  days  of  Home  were  subsequent 
to  this  separation,  though  causes  of  a  revival  of  a 
purer  faith  had  arisen.  The  last  results  of  religious 
error  and  an  unfaithful  ministry  are  best  seen  as 
they  contrast  with  the  rising  power  of  a  pure  faith. 
Nay,  they  are  not  fully  developed  till  that  contrast 
is  felt. 

Social  religion  disappeared  from  Home.  For 
eighty  years  tradition  has  no  record  of  a  prayer- 
meeting  in  the  town.  And  when  the  deistical 
pastor,  with  great  reluctance  consented  to  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  Sabbath  school,  but  two  members 
were  found  in  the  church  willing  to  pray  in  public. 
The  popular  feeling  respecting  prayer  was  shown 
in  a  remark  of  a  plain -man.  A  sick  man,  in  a 
dying  state,  wished  to  hear  prayer.  The  pastor 
was  absent.  None  could  be  found  to  pray  for  him. 
The  physician,  long  a  member  of  the  church,  de- 
clined. Alas,  he  did  not  pray  in  secret!  "Why," 
said  the  man,  "  I  should  think  the  doctor  might 
have  prayed.  He  has  learning  enough."  It  did  not 
enter  into  the  man's  head  that  a  humble  heart  was 
the  element  of  acceptable  prayer,  or  that  a  spiritual 
experience  would  fit  a  man,  however  poorly  gifted, 
to  pray  with  the  dying  far  better  than  the  possession 
of  all  knowledge. 

The  neglect  of  secret  prayer  was  nearly  as  uni- 


versal  as  the  omission  of  it  in  the  family.  Not  that, 
in  hours  of  sickness  or  danger  the  mind  never 
turned  to  God,  or  ever  used  the  words  of  petition 
to  Him.  I  have  smiled  at  the  sensitiveness  of 
many  when  I  have  asked  them,  "do  you  pray  in 
secret  ?"  Those  who  seldom  or  never  did,  always 
evaded  it ;  often  with  some  marks  of  displeasure. 
But  it  was  plain  enough  they  had  no  habits  of 
secret  prayer,  no  stated  seasons  for  it,  no  delight  in 
it.  Among  those  who  do  pray,  and  love  to  do  so? 
it  is  always  easy  to  learn  the  facts  respecting  their 
habits  of  secret  prayer.  They  have  no  motive  for 
hiding  it.  But  the  prayerless  would  not  be  thought 
utterly  to  forget  God  !  I  could  never  learn,  by  dili- 
gent inquiry,  that  ten  members  of  the  churches  of 
Home  habitually  prayed  in  secret.  Their  life  in 
this  respect  was  in  keeping  with  their  whole  con- 
duct Private  prayer,  social  prayer,  public  prayer, 
are  all  linked  together  in  the  heart  that  loves  to 
pray.  In  a  whole  church  one  is  not  forgotten  till 
the  others  are  laid  aside. 

The  neglect  of  public  worship  increased,  as  the 
power  of  the  gospel  ceased  to  be  felt  in  the  lives  of 
its  professed  votaries.  At  a  period  more  recent, 
less  than  one-third  of  the  adult  inhabitants  of  Home 
were  habitually  found  in  all  the  places  of  public 
worship.  The  services  at  weddings  and  funerals 
6* 


were  the  only  occasions  on  which  anything  like 
religion  was  seen  in  this  dark  group.  But  many, 
in  sight  of  the  church  and  the  pastor's  house,  were 
equally  negligent.  Yet  none  reproved,  none  in- 
vited, none  warned  them.  "  No  man  cared  for  their 
souls."  I  always  set  down  the  neglect  of  public 
worship  to  the  want  of  faithfulness  in  the  pastor. 
Faithful  preaching,  and  faithful  pastoral  visits,  with 
much  prayer,  will  leave  few  or  none  to  neglect  the 
public  means  of  grace.  How  unlike  the  early 
habits  of  the  people  of  Home,  when  every  occa- 
sional absence  was  matter  of  inquiry,  if  not  of  re- 
proof! 

Sabbath  desecration  followed,  of  course.  There 
were  few  who  made  it  a  day  of  toil.  It  was  rather 
a  day  of  jollity,  of  social  visits,  of  idle  talk,  of  rides, 
of  wandering  in  the  fields  to  pick  berries ;  a  day  of 
pleasure,  instead  of  a  season  for  worship,  for  read- 
ing, for  prayer,  or  beneficial  converse.  Labor  was 
not  avoided  because  God  forbade  it,  but  because  it 
was  irksome.  The  holy  day,  became  a  holiday 
merely.  The  physical  rest  of  the  day  was  enjoyed, 
and  that  is  a  great  blessing  to  man  and  beast  ;  but 
its  spiritual  objects  were  worse  than  lost.  The  pro- 
found religious  ignorance  of  these  neighborhoods, 
by  dwellers  in  a  Christian  town,  can  hardly  be  con- 
ceived. The  name  of  Christ  was  not  unknown  ; 


but  his  character  and  offices  were  alike  forgotten. 
Sinful  man  does  not  "  like  to  retain  God  in  his 
knowledge."  And  without  a  faithful  ministry  and 
a  living  church,  a  Christian  town,  in  a  few  years, 
would  relapse  into  virtual  heathenism.  There  are 
two  errors,  equally  fatal,  in  the  end.  One  is  ultra 
spiritualism,  which  is  so  holy  as  to  need  no  Sabbath, 
no  days  of  worship,  no  union  of  hearts  in  prayer  and 
praises.  The  other  extreme  makes  religion  a  thing 
for  the  Sabbath,  the  sick  bed  and  old  age.  We 
need  a  Sabbath  to  cultivate  our  spiritual  nature. 
But  truly  spiritual  affections  go  with  us  everywhere. 
The  merchant  of  Albany,  N.  Y.,  who  asked  "  What 
lias  religion  to  do  with  selling  lumber?"  had  as 
little  correct  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  true  piety, 
t\s  the  man  who  needs  no  hours  sacred  to  devotion, 
no  Bible  to  guide  his  already  perfect  mind  in  the 
way  of  truth.  In  Home,  in  my  young  days,  we  had 
the  lumber  merchant's  religion,  so  far  as  there  was 
any.  It  had  no  power  to  control  men's  passions,  no 
influence  over  their  daily  business. 

"  The  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil,"  or  of 
every  kind  and  form  of  sin,  according  to  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  the  covetous,  grasping  spirit 
is  placed.  Sometimes  he  plunders  the  poor  with- 
out regard  to  law.  At  others,  he  uses  every  unfair 
advantage  within  the  letter  of  the  Statutes.  The 


68  HOME. 

poor  man  may  be  covetous,  but  in  the  rich  only  does 
the  sin  become  widely  injurious  to  others.  "Cov- 
etousness  is  idolatry."  No  surer  mark  of  a  fallen 
church  is  found  than  covetousness  and  the  oppres- 
sion of  the  poor  on  the  part  of  the  rich.  Some  of 
the  richest  men  in  Home  belonged  to  the  churches, 
in  my  boyhood.  One  of  them,  the  least  guilty,  in- 
creased his  gains  by  loans  at  usurious  interest,  on 
mortgages,  which  he  seldom  allowed  to  be  redeem- 
ed. His  immense  wealth  has  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  the  pious,  who  will  use  it  for  God  and  the  good 
of  man.  Another  died  the  owner  of  several  farms 
obtained  by  loans  on  mortgage  to  those  rendered 
needy  by  intemperance  and  other  vices.  For  half 
their  value  he  stripped  them  of  their  possessions, 
and  then  held  them  as  tenants.  What  difference 
made  it  in  his  relations  to  the  church  ? 

Still  another  obtained  almost  equal  wealth  by 
means  more  openly  criminal.  By  the  same  system 
of  loans  he  obtained  control  over  the  poor.  He 
encouraged  their  intemperance  by  paying  them  for 
labor  in  rum.  He  despoiled  them  of  their  earnings 
by  settling  their  accounts  while  they  were  half 
drunken.  They  must  submit  to  his  extortion,  or  be 
turned  out  of  dwellings  no  longer  their  own.  All 
these  proud,  ungodly  men,  were  members  of  the 
fallen  churches  of  Home.  If  they  were  the  worst, 


HOME.  69 

they  were  the  richest  Their  sin  did  not  destroy 
their  honor.  The  common  sense  of  mankind 
might  decide  that  such  men  were  not  fitted  for  a 
holy  heaven.  But  none  questioned  their  right  to 
a  place  in  the  churches  called  by  the  holy  name  of 
Christ.  Their  power  for  evil  was  greater ;  their 
breasts  more  hardened  than  those  of  many  others. 
The  naturally  generous  despised  their  acts  of  mean- 
ness, now  and  then  brought  to  public  notice.  But 
their  worldly  spirit  too  surely  reigned  in  the  church- 
es to  incur  any  censure.  Most  men  did  not  see,  in 
their  spirit,  anything  so  very  unlike  their  own,  or 
so  different  from  that  of  other  church  members,  as 
to  require  rebuke.  They  died,  and  the  "people 
made  a  great  mourning  for  them."  Funeral  ser- 
mons spake  of  their  social  virtues,  their  regard  for 
religion,  their  titles  to  the  esteem  of  their  fellow 
men.  Who  has  not  some  virtues  ?  Some  qualities 
that  win  respect  and  love  ?  When  the  young  ruler 
"went  away  sorrowful  because  he  had  great  pos- 
sessions," he  showed  the  power  of  a  worldly,  cove- 
tous spirit  over  his  soul.  He  could  not  give  up  all 
he  had  for  Christ's  sake.  He  would  have  been  a 
worthy  member  of  our  churches  in  Home,  never- 
theless. Was  he  not  so  excellent  that  Jesus  loved 
him?  He  had  many  virtues,  one  sin.  With  very 
many  the  balance  is  very  far  the  other  way.  They 


70  HOME. 

have  many  sins,  few  redeeming  traits.  The  one 
sin  shut  him  out  from  the  favor  of  God  just  as  sure- 
ly as  if  his  head  were  gray  with  a  life  of  varied 
crime.  No  sin  now  debases  the  true  living  church- 
es of  our  Lord  so  much  as  covetousness.  To  give 
that  which  is  entirely  convenient  without  the  sacri- 
fice of  one  hour  of  ease,  one  luxury,  one  social  com- 
fort, one  mode  of  increasing  one's  gains,  is  all  that 
many  deem  requisite  to  illustrate  their  faith.  It 
does  illustrate  their  faith.  It  is  small  indeed !  The 
few  who  give  more  freely  of  money,  withhold  time 
and  personal  labor  for  man's  welfare.  That  is 
more  valuable  than  money.  The  fewer  still  who 
appropriate  a  tenth  of  their  income  to  benevolence 
and  charity  have  reached  a  sublime  height  of  self- 
denial  to  which  the  many  dare  not  aspire !  True, 
if  all  the  churches  did  so  much,  there  would  be  no 
lack  of  means  to  renew  on  earth  the  glory  of  para- 
dise in  one  generation.  But  the  spirit  of  love  in 
the  heart  is  even  more  wanting  than  the  gifts  of 
gold.  Both  are  needed  to  fill  the  world  with  the 
knowledge  of  Christ.  In  vain  do  we  profess  to 
consecrate  our  all  to  Christ,  while  we  do  so  little 
for  him,  and  by  our  life  prove  that  the  spirit  of  self- 
denial  does  not  rule  in  our  hearts.  As  well  might 
Ananias  and  Sapphira  claim  the  favor  of  God,  as 
the  members  of  a  worldly  church  who  profess  so 


HOME.  71 

much,  and  withhold  so  much  more  than  is  meet, 
from  the  service  of  God.  He  who  lives  to  himself, 
is  not  a  disciple.  He  who  heaps  up  gold  for  him- 
self, is  not  the  imitator  of  Christ.  He  who  makes 
money  for  Christ,  is  a  rare  disciple,  and  may  be  set 
down,  with  a  degree  of  certainty,  as  one  "  whose 
life  is  hid  with  Christ,  in  God." 


72  HOME. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Intemperance  abounding-*— Death  and  crime — Lewdness — 
The  sins  of  the  parents  visited  on  their  children — a  true 
story — One  covenant  remembered. 

IN  what  part  of  our  land  have  not  the  curses  of 
alcohol  been  felt,  in  every  form  of  suffering  and  woe 
by  which  man's  lot  is  made  bitter  ?  The  only  dif- 
ference in  the  degrees  in  which  the  woe  prevailed 
arose  from  the  previous  moral  and  religious  state  of 
the  community.  Sixty  years  ago  drunkenness  was 
rare  in  our  New  England  towns.  In  1780  a  vene- 
rable relative  noticed,  in  a  small  country  tavern,  the 
amount  of  liquors  sold.  It  was  three  barrels  annu- 
ally. In  1830  he  visited  the  same  tavern,  kept  in  the 
same  old  house,  hardly  a  shingle  of  which  was 
changed,  and  found  the  amount  sold  had  increased 
to  thirty  barrels  a  year !  This  is  perhaps,  an  average, 
measure  of  the  increased  frequency  of  intemperate 
drinking  in  fifty  years.  The  impulse  towards  it 
was  given  by  the  habits  acquired  in  the  army ;  and 
the  rapid  increase  of  agricultural  products,  espe- 
cially after  the  beginning  of  this  century,  without  a 


HOME.  73 

market  for  them.  The  cheapness  of  grain  reduced 
the  price  of  distilled  liquors  to  a  point  without  ex- 
ample in  the  history  of  commerce.  When  the  re- 
ligious and  moral  tone  of  society  did  not  arm  it  for 
resistance,  the  tide  of  woe  flowed  over  almost 
every  dwelling. 

The  early  morality  of  Home  was  slowly  under- 
mined, yet  never  so  debased  as  to  make  it,  com- 
pared with  its  neighbors,  an  immoral  town.  At 
least,  I  never  thought  so ;  though  I  must  admit  that 
the  proportion  of  public  crimes  has  been  greater 
than  in  any  other  farming  town  in  the  State,  as  the 
records  of  our  prison  too  surely  tell.  Writing  in 
the  prison  of  a  distant  city,  without  books,  I  cannot 
compare  the  statistics  of  intemperance  so  well. 
But  I  know  the  amount  was  great. 

In  a  neighborhood  of  about  two  miles  in  circuit, 
enchaining  the  most  refined  portion  of  Home,  the 
number  of  deaths,  for  fifteen  years  prior  to  183G  was 
about  seventy,  not  including  children  and  youth 
under  twenty  years  of  age — knowing  every  one  of 
them,  and  their  personal  history,  two  gentlemen  de- 
clared that  fifty  of  these  deaths  resulted  from  in- 
temperance. True,  in  some  cases,  the  disease  that 
closed  life  was  called  "  fever  "  or  "  consumption  ;" 
and  was  so,  in  fact ;  a  fever  of  the  brain  and  a  con- 
sumption of  the  vital  energy  of  the  man.  But  hard 
7 


74 


drinking  brought  on  the  disease ;  and  the  substitu- 
tion of  a  softer  name,  only  served  to  hide  from  the 
public,  not  from  the  neighbors,  the  real  truth.  It 
might  wound  the  spirit  of  the  mourner  to  call  it  by 
a  harsher  name.  So  'colds,'  'fevers,'  'asthmas,' 
'  consumptions '  and  '  apoplexy  '  were  suffered  to 
give  name  to  the  remorseless  evil  that  filled  the 
drunkard's  grave  with  victims.  Who  can  severely 
censure  these  cheats  of  affection,  which  sooth  our 
sorrow,  and  impose  on  no  one  !  Those  who  were 
thus  cut  down,  were  of  every  class  in  society,  every 
age  and  both  sexes.  Intemperate  women  always 
died  of  consumption  and  fevers!  In  the  darkest 
hours  of  the  reign  of  alcohol,  the  idea  of  a  drunken 
woman  was  abhorrent  to  public  feeling,  at  Home. 
Such  things  existed,  but  little  was  said  of  them. 

In  my  own  history  occurred  another  proof  of  the 
vices  of  alcohol.  My  venerable  guardian,  one  of  the 
best  guardians  an  orphan  ever  had,  on  the  final  ad- 
justment of  our  accounts,  exhibited  an  item  of  near- 
ly a  thousand  dollars  of  uncollected  debts.  Filled 
with  surprise,  I  asked  the  reason.  With  deep  emo- 
tion he  replied,  "  It  would  have  turned  forty  families 
out  of  doors  to  do  it."  They  were  debts  for  liquors, 
sold  by  the  small  quantity,  in  those  days  of  dark- 
ness when  kind,  good  men  were  blinded  to  the  evils 
of  this  traffic.  I  knew  the  history  of  every  family. 


HOME.  75 

They  were  all  poor,  after  the  lapse  of  eighteen 
years.  A  score  of  bodies  had  been  carried  from 
their  dilapidated  houses  to  the  drunkard's  grave. 
Vice,  misery,  want  clung  to  them.  Lewdness,  petty 
thefts,  brawls,  idleness,  rags,  disease,  sudden  death, 
there,  as  elsewhere,  followed  in  the  train  of  Rum. 
Who  shall  not  bless  God  for  the  dawn  of  the  bright 
day  of  total  abstinence  ?  To  scores  of  families  hi 
Home  it  has  carried  peace,  and  prepared  the  way 
for  the  reception  of  spiritual  blessings. 

Vice  and  irreligion  help  each  other.  The  vicious 
hate  the  purity  of  the  gospel.  The  votaries  of  a 
lax  faith  have  lost  the  highest  restraints  upon  crime. 
The  cross  has  more  power  to  purify  the  social  life 
than  all  the  maxims  of  prudence  or  the  motives  that 
appeal  to  man's  fears  and  hopes. 

So  few,  out  of  the  circle  of  "  moral  reform " 
agencies  are  aware  of  the  extent  of  the  sin  of  lewd- 
ness,  that  it  is  difficult  to  speak  of  it  without  excit- 
ing  prejudice  and  giving  offence.  That  it  was  more 
prevalent  in  Home  during  the  last  generation  than 
the  present,  or  in  any  previous  period  of  its  history, 
is  beyond  all  doubt.  That  men  high  in  rank  were 
not  free  from  it  is  known.  The  extent  to  which  it 
prevailed  among  the  intemperate  and  the  ignorant, 
who  were,  by  the  causes  already  narrated,  thrown 
beyond  the  reach  of  such  religious  influences  as 


76  HOME. 

existed,  can  hardly  be  known.  The  evil  began  to 
pass  away  before  the  public  mind  was  roused  to  its 
enormity  or  its  extent.  In  one  respect  I  always 
admired  the  feelings  common  in  Home,  on  this 
topic.  The  fallen  woman  was  an  object  of  pity,  not 
of  contempt  and  scorn.  Drive  the  lewd  man  from 
society  if  you  will,  but  welcome  his  victim  back  to 
the  paths  of  virtue  and  honor. 

In  no  other  instance  is  that  fearful  law  of  retri- 
bution, the  "  visiting  of  the  sins  of  the  fathers  upon 
their  children,"  so  frequently  illustrated  as  in  this. 
The  wealthiest,  and  one  of  the  most  honored  men 
in  Home,  in  a  past  generation,  was  a  libertine. 
One  son  inherited  his  wealth,  his  honors.  He,  too, 
followed  in  the  same  career  of  sin.  In  the  third 
generation  his  name  and  race  were  extinct  Anoth- 
er instance  of  it  I  must  not  omit,  for  the  striking 
lessons  it  imparts. 

D.  was  a  well-educated  girl,  belonging  to  a 
wealthy  family  of  Home.  Endowed  with  superior 
talents,  and  remarkable  personal  beauty  and  grace, 
her  intense  vanity,  and  strong  passions,  without  the 
restraints  of  the  gospel,  made  her  an  almost  willing 
victim  of  the  seducer.  He  was  a  husband,  a  father. 
She  fled  to  the  city,  to  hide  her  sin  from  the  eyes 
of  all  who  knew  her.  There,  in  the  process  of 
time,  she  became  the  owner  of  one  of  those  fester- 


77 


ing  sores  on  social  life,  a  public  brothel.  In  that 
den  of  shame  and  crime,  she  gave  birth  to  two  sons, 
Samuel  and  James.  Their  fathers  were  never 
known.  Not  wholly  lost  to  the  impulses  of  nature, 
she  loved  these  more,  worse  than  orphans,  with  an 
intense,  idolatrous  affection.  Educated  herself,  she 
resolved  to  spare  no  expense,  to  hesitate  at  no  crime 
even,  to  give  them  the  best  education  the  land  af- 
forded. Doubtless,  too,  as  I  have  known  in  other 
like  cases,  the  guilty  mother,  her  spirit  gnawed  by 
the  pangs  of  remorse,  longed  to  save  her  sons  from 
lives  of  sin.  Such  inconsistences  are  often  seen. 
She  determined  they  should  never  know  their  mo- 
ther's dreadful  trade,  nor  their  own  dark  origin. 

The  gains  of  sin  were  hoarded  to  be  lavished  on 
these  sons.  They  were  both  sent  to  Harvard,  and 
graduated  with  distinguished  honor.  Their  minds 
were  minds  of  great  power  and  brilliancy. 

Samuel,  in  that  part  of  his  career,  became  a  de- 
voted follower  of  Christ    His  heart  burning  with 
holy  love,  he  decided  to  become  a  minister  of  the 
gospel.     Little  did   he  know   that   the   wages   of 
whoredom  supplied  the  means  of  his  support  at 
Andover ;   little  did  others  suspect  it.    There,  too, 
he  was  conspicuous  for  his  mental  endowments, 
his  scholarship,  his  stainless  purity  of  life. 
James,  even  more  highly  gifted,  entered  the  Har- 
7* 


78 


vard  Medical  School.  At  this  period  he  became 
acquainted  with  and  corrupted  by  the  vices  of  his 
mother's  house.  I  knew  him  well.  A  more  agree- 
able, well-informed  companion  one  seldom  meets. 
But  he  soon  added  intemperance  to  lewdness.  An 
hospital  student,  availing  himself  of  his  chemical 
knowledge  to  neutralize  their  medicinal  effects,  he 
drank  up  even  the  tinctures  prepared  for  the  sick, 
for  the  sake  of  the  alcohol  in  which  they  were  dis- 
solved !  Driven  from  his  rank  and  profession  by 
his  vices,  he  went  to  sea,  as  a  common  sailor. 
Four  years  later,  rotten  with  loathsome  diseases,  he 
died  as  the  fool  dieth,  in  the  same  hospital  where 
he  had  once  studied  the  healing  art  The  sin  of 
his  parents  slew  him  ! 

But  the  cup  of  retribution  was  not  yet  full.  Sam- 
uel early  became  the  pastor  of  one  of  our  best 
-churches,  not  far  from  Home.  Clear  and  forcible 
in  his  preaching,  sound  in  faith,  warm  in  his  affec- 
tions, he  was  useful  and  beloved  by  his  excellent 
flock.  His  works  praised  him.  He  became  a  fre- 
quent contributor  to  the  religious  press.  His  ex- 
cellent pen  won  praises  from  which  his  humility  and 
modesty  shrank. 

He  engaged,  with  applause,  in  the  controversies 
of  the  time.  Who  has  not  read  his  -letters  on  the 
existence  and  agency  of  fallen  spirits  ?  Ascribed  at 


HOME.  79 

the  hour,  to  many  of  our  leading  divines,  they  were 
the  fruits  of  his  leisure. 

As  if  Providence  would  not,  even  for  the  sake  of 
this  excellent  man,  wave  the  law  of  retribution — 'in 
a  few  months  he  died  of  a  broken  heart.  Men  said 
disease  slew  him.  The  disease  was  a  wounded 
spirit.  His  pure  and  sensitive  mind,  lacerated,  in 
every  faculty  by  sins  of  which  he  was  the  inno- 
cent victim,  could  not  endure  the  load  of  life.  The 
body  was  broken  in  its  struggles  to  be  free.  The 
sins  of  his  parents  slew  him,  also ! 

The  wretched,  guilty  mother  still  lives,  lives  in 
sin,  without  God,  without  hope.  "Keep  thyself 
pure  "  is  the  lesson,  written  in  characters  of  judg- 
ment by  the  finger  of  Providence  on  every  page  of 
man's  dark  history.  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in 
heart,  for  they  shall  see  God." 

Nor  is  that  law  of  social  retribution  which  thus 
connects  the  sins  of  the  parent  with  the  life  of  the 
child  unjust,  or  intended  as  a  mere  punishment.  It 
is  designed  to  restrain  men  from  crime  by  the  be- 
fore-known judgments  their  sins  may  bring  upon 
the  objects  of  their  warmest  love.  If  their  children 
imitate  their  parents'  sins,  their  doom  is  plainly  just. 
If,  like  one  of  these  young  men,  they  turn  from 
sin,  it  is  no  punishment  to  them  to  remove  them  to 
heaven.  While  their  sufferings,  as  pure  and  inno- 


80  HOME. 

cent  victims  of  a  parent's  crimes,  still  more  im- 
pressively show  the  evil  nature  of  sin.  The  law, 
then,  is  wise  and  beneficent  in  its  aims.  It  is  only 
the  counterpart  of  the  other  law  of  blessing,  by 
which  God  "  shows  mercy  to  thousands  of  them 
that  love  him  and  keep  his  commandments,"  and  to 
their  children  for  many  generations. 

If  the  sins  and  worldliness  and  departures  from 
the  faith,  in  a  past  generation,  brought  into  being 
a  race  "  who  knew  not  God,"  no  doubt  the  same 
God  remembered  his  "  covenant  which  he  made 
with  our  fathers,"  and  counted  up  all  their  fervent 
prayers  and  holy  vows,  when  he  began  to  revive 
again  his  work  of  grace  in  the  hearts  of  their  pos- 
terity, in  our  own  day.  The  sacred  spot  where  the 
first  family  altar  was  built  in  Home,  and  where 
seven  generations  offered  the  sacrifices  of  prayer 
and  praise,  cannot,  will  not,  in  coming  time,  be 
the  home  of  unbelief  and  sin !  No,  our  fathers' 
God  will  not  so  forget  his  mercy !  Though,  for  a 
brief  space,  "  he  hid,  as  it  were,  his  face  from  us," 
he  will  return  again,  and  raise  up  a  holy  race,  who 
shall  keep  his  covenant ;  for  he  will  write  it  in  their 
hearts.  "He  is  God,  the  faithful  God,  which  keep- 
eth  covenant  and  mercy  with  them  that  love  him 
and  keep  his  commandments,  to  a  thousand  gener- 
ations." 


In  vain  does  error  vaunt  itself  on  its  temporary 
possession,  of  the  houses  where  our  fathers  wor- 
shipped, and  the  funds  they  devoted  to  the  support 
of  the  worship  of  the  Saviour  they  loved.  He  will 
yet  restore  them  all.  Error  has  its  office.  It  may 
linger  still,  that  the  sons  of  God  may  be  made 
manifest  by  their  rejection  of  it.  Already  its  pow- 
er over  the  popular  mind  is  gone.  The  sentiments 
of  its  votaries  are  daily  assimilated  more  and  more 
to  the  faith  of  the  gospel.  And,  what  is  far  more 
delightful,  to  a  true  son  of  the  Pilgrims,  the  "  rock 
of  the  Spirit "  in  the  hearts  of  many,  in  the  fruits 
of  holiness,  is  even  more  manifest  than  the  evident 
progress  in  correct  intellectual  views  of  divine 
things. 

So  shall  the  next  generation — that  in  which  my 
children  shall  mingle — be  united  once  more,  both 
in  the  pure  faith  and  holy  living  that  prepared  our 
fathers  to  be  the  founders  of  a  great,  and  free  na- 
tion. 


82  HOME. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Party  spirit — Preaching  at  men — Uses  of  sects  and  parties 
— Bible  politics — Supremacy  of  the  Law  of  God. 

PARTY  SPIRIT  is  not  an  evil,  in  its  own  nature. 
Men  agree  in  their  views.  They  deem  them  im- 
portant to  their  own  welfare  and  that  of  their  fellow- 
men.  They  desire  to  see  them  adopted  by  all,  and 
controlling  the  actions  of  all.  The  laws  of  their 
nature  lead  them  to  associate  together  to  spread 
their  views  and  accomplish  their  designs.  They 
talk,  they  meet,  they  write,  they  print,  they  sing,  they 
pray,  to  gain  their  ends.  Common  objects  and  pur- 
suits call  forth,  in  some  degree,  their  affections, 
their  passions,  their  zeal.  They  become,  by  use, 
and  feeling,  bound  to  those  with  whom  they  labor 
for  common  ends — -just  in  proportion  to  their  ideas 
of  the  nature  of  these  ends,  and  the  toils  and  diffi- 
culties they  surmount  in  gaining  them,  will  be  the 
strength  of  their  union  with  their  fellows,  and  their 
alienation  from  those  who  resist  them. 

All  this  is  proper,  is  right.  It  accords  with  the 
highest  and  best  principles  and  laws  of  our  mental 


HOME.  83 

and  social  nature.  The  mind  and  heart  make  men 
partisans.  The  thoroughly  selfish  and  idle  and 
sluggish  only  are  not  so,  in  some  things,  at  least 

The  evils  of  party  spirit  are  found  only  in  its  ex- 
cesses and  abuses.  With  our  fallen  nature,  it  is 
hard  to  avoid  them,  even  when  the  objects  we  seek 
are  high,  honorable,  holy.  If  the  objects  are  right, 
and  the  means  we  employ  are  wise  and  right  also, 
no  degree  of  zeal  or  party  spirit  that  is  necessary  to 
secure  the  ends,  is  ever  excessive.  A  want  of  zeal, 
in  such  a  case,  is  the  error. 

These  principles  apply  alike  to  the  religious,  the 
political,  and  the  social  concerns  of  man.  Those 
who  are  too  idle  to  think,  or  too  imbecile  to  decide, 
and  too  sluggish  for  action,  may  deem  otherwise. 
But  mankind  will  have  few  benefits  to  thank  them 
for.  Such  forms  of  party,  or  more  properly,  social 
action,  are  needed  to  call  forth  man's  highest  pow- 
ers. Men  talk  idly  when  they  would  have  us  be- 
lieve that  they  can  banish  the  spirit  of  party  from 
politics  or  religion.  They  must  destroy  man's  pow- 
er of  loving ;  nay,  root  out  every  emotion  from  his 
soul ;  make  him  indifferent  to  the  approval  of  his 
fellows,  careless  of  their  censures,  and  reckless  of 
all  obligations  to  them,  before  the  emulation,  rivalry 
and  competition,  that  form  the  grosser  elements  of 
party  are  rooted  out ;  grosser,  yet  not  evil.  The 


84  HOME. 

evil  still  is  in  excess  or  abuse.  When  party  is  di- 
rected to  unworthy  ends ;  when  detraction,  slander, 
forgery,  bribery,  falsehood,  or  any  other  sinful  means 
are  resorted  to,  to  attain  them,  party  spirit  becomes 
a  ruthless  demon,  riding  on  a  stormy  sea  of  human 
passions,  dashing  its  waves  of  crime  over  all  that  is 
pure  and  valuable  in  man's  life. 

There  are  evils  connected  with  almost  all  sects 
in  religion,  because  men,  from  their  sinful  passions, 
reject  some  truth,  or  exaggerate  its  value,  or  resort 
to  sinful  means  to  gain  power  over  the  conscience. 
But  the  benefits  of  the  competition  of  sects  far  out- 
weigh those  minor  evils.  He  who  would  blot  out 
from  being  one  of  the  sects  which  yet,  with  admitted 
errors,  embrace  the  great  doctrines  of  the  cross,  is 
an  enemy  to  the  hope  of  man  !  He  would,  if  suc- 
cessful, delay  for  a  century  the  triumph  of  that  Re- 
deemer, who  is  equally  the  object  of  supreme  love 
and  reverence  to  the  truly  pious  in  all  sects.  Every 
evangelical  sect  enters  some  neglected  part  of  the 
vineyard ;  brings  to  light  some  valuable  truths,  or 
points  out  some  new  modes  of  action,  besides  in- 
culcating the  great  truths  in  which  all  unite,  and 
which  form  the  proper  basis  of  a  Christian  life. 

Even  sects  of  errorists  are  not  without  value,  in 
showing  Christians  their  sins,  and  compelling  them 
to  greater  fidelity  and  more  self-denial.  Entire 


HOME.  85 

union  of  opinion  and  action  is  desirable.  But  life, 
power,  activity,  diffusion,  are  far  more  so.  In  the 
revival  of  pure  religion  in  the  Pilgrim  churches, 
sects  not  known  to  our  fathers,  holding  views  in 
some  points — as  we  judge — erroneous,  have  acted 
a  most  important  part  Neither  here,  nor  in  the 
world  at  large,  can  one  common  faith  dispense  with 
their  labors  without  great  loss. — I  never  preach 
against  sects,  but  against  every  sin  1  can  discover  in 
any,  especially  in  my  own.  This  is  the  true  road  to 
peace,  union,  harmony,  activity  and  perfect  love. 

In  political  life  sects  are  equally  useful,  m  the 
present  state  of  man.  They  are  no  longer  masses 
of  men  led  blindly  by  demagogues ;  but  minds  ruled 
by  thought,  influenced  by  discussions,  by  reflection, 
by  principles  of  action.  There  may  be,  there  are, 
excesses  of  party  zeal.  Bad  men  are  magnified 
into  gods;  men  of  feeble  intellects  into  giants;  cor 
rupt  measures  are  made  to  seem  all-important  to 
the  well-being  of  the  land,  in  some  men's  eyes.  But 
still,  every  contest,  governed  as  it  now  is,  by  the 
power  of  the  press,  that  is,  by  thought,  read,  spoken, 
reflected  on,  becomes  an  invaluable  part  of  the  edu- 
cation of  the  national  mind.  The  more  important 
the  principles  involved,  the  more  excited  and  radi- 
cal the  debates  become,  the  more  valuable  is  the 


86  HOME. 

strife  to  the  interests  of  man,  end  as  it  may.  For 
truth,  justice,  right,  will  finally  triumph. 

That  the  occasional  excesses  of  such  contests  do 
harm,  become  the  sources  of  corruption  to  individu- 
al minds,  and  of  religious  declension  in  churches,  is 
true.  In  one  or  two  periods  of  our  history,  this  has 
been  illustrated.  When,  for  instance,  one  of  our 
pastors  in  Home  so  far  forgot  his  calling  and  duties 
as  to  invite  a  gross  political  assault  on  a  distin- 
guished statesman  in  his  own  church,  on  the  Sab- 
bath, on  account  of  political  differences,  it  was  a 
gross  sin.  The  evil  it  inflicted  time  could  not 
wholly  remove. 

The  heat  of  the  partisan  is  not  for  the  pulpit,  or 
the  Sabbath.  These  have  higher  aims  and  duties. 
Yet  is  not  the  pastor  to  neglect  to  preach  political 
truths,  at  his  peril.  The  Bible  lays  down  the  prin- 
ciples that  should  control  governments,  as  well  as 
individual  men.  It  leaves  no  community  at  liberty 
to  place  an  immoral  man  in  office.  The  ruler  must 
be  just.  He  must  be  one  who  will  "judge  the 
cause  of  the  widow,  the  orphan,  the  poor,  the  op- 
pressed." To  vote  for  men  of  a  different  character 
is  a  crime.  It  is  every  pastor's  duty  to  point  it  out, 
and  warn  the  flock  against  the  sin.  The  duty  of 
rulers  to  regard  the  Sabbath,  to  frame  just  laws,  to 
protect  the  weak,  to  succor  the  oppressed,  to  culti- 


HOME.  87 

vaie  peace  and  harmony,  and  avoid  the  occasions 
of  strife  and  war;  the  great  principles  of  equality 
and  purity  on  which  all  laws  should  be  based;  these 
are  as  much  a  part  of  the  Scripture  doctrines  as  the 
atonement  of  Christ.  Even  the  claims  of  minuter 
measures,  and  particular  men  to  support,  so  far  as 
these  involve  moral  or  religious  principle,  it  is  some- 
times the  faithful  pastor's  duty  to  discuss.  He 
should  do  it  with  dignity,  candor,  holy  zeal  for  God, 
and  human  welfare.  He  will  offend  some ;  so  does 
fidelity  in  any  part  of  his  duties.  But  he  will  ben- 
efit and  please  more.  Some  forty  years  ago,  on  the 
eve  of  an  excited  contest,  a  single  sermon,  by  an 
eminent  and  spiritual  pastor  decided  the  State  elec- 
tion. One  who  reads  it  now,  can  see  in  it  only  a  vin- 
dication of  great  and  pure  principles,  such  as  ought 
always  to  regulate  the  conduct  of  men  in  their  civil 
duties.  The  separation  of  the  citizen  from  the 
Christian  ;  the  formation  of  one  set  of  rulers  to  gov- 
ern the  man  in  civil  life,  and  another  to  control  his 
conduct  in  the  church,  is  an  error  destructive  to 
pure  morals  and  good  government.  If  the  citizen 
shall  establish  rules  and  laws,  diverse  from  the  Bi- 
ble, and  claim  for  them  an  equal  or  higher  au- 
thority over  him,  as  a  citizen,  he  usurps  the  author- 
ity of  God,  and  defies  his  wrath.  There  is  no  surer 
mark  of  the  fallen  state  of  the  slave-holding  churches, 


than  their  attempts  to  cover  up  all  the  sins  and 
crimes  they  connive  at,  by  the  plea  that  the  civil 
law  sanctions  them.  Enough  for  a  Christian  that 
the  law  of  God  condemns  them.  So  in  all  other 
cases. 

The  churches  can  never  regain  their  just  power 
over  the  human  mind  ;  the  pastoral  office  will  nev- 
er be  invested  with  its  proper  dignity,  till  the  supre- 
macy of  God's  laws  over  all  the  constitutions,  laws 
and  civil  conduct  of  men  is  faithfully  enforced,  on 
every  proper  occasion,  and  felt  by  all  who  call  them- 
selves Christians.  The  timid  and  sluggish  shrink 
from  a  bold  conflict  with  human  passion.  They 
will  "  preach  the  cross  only" — would  they  did  ! 
Would  God  that  they  exalted  the  "  Prince  of  the 
kings  [rulers,  law-givers,  magistrates,  judges,  officers] 
of  the  earth"  in  men's  thoughts,  till  the  power  of 
His  cross  was  confessed  in  every  law,  every  election 
to  office,  every  form  of  civil  polity.  The  idea  that 
the  cross  has  relation  to  the  affections  only ;  or, 
that  it  is  the  object  of  the  gospel  to  renovate  the 
heart,  and  therefore,  that  the  pastor  may  omit  the 
plain  and  constant  enforcement  of  its  claim  to  con- 
trol the  life,  is  a  most  pernicious  error — "  I  aim 
to  make  men  Christians  by  imbuing  their  hearts 
with  holy  love."  That  is  right ;  only  "  go  on,  to 
perfection."  Let  not  your  faith  be  without  works, 


HOME.  89 

or  fruit  in  the  life.  Let  not  men  learn  that  they  may 
consult  their  oivn  will,  in  all  the  laws  that  govern 
the  rights  to  life,  liberty,  property,  purity  and  honor  ; 
and  still  be  good  subjects  of  Christ,  if  they  regard 
his  will  in  their  other  relations  and  personal  con- 
cerns. The  great  idea  of  the  gospel  is,  that  Christ 
must  rule  the  whole  man,  in  all  his  life,  all  his  rela- 
tions, all  his  duties.  It  is  not  the  Christian's  aim  to 
govern  his  affections,  only,  or  his  conduct  in  private 
life  alone,  or  his  public  action  merely,  by  the  laws 
of  the  Bible.  Each  and  all,  from  his  birth  till  he 
enters  the  Permanent  Life  before  him,  are  to  be 
governed  by  the  word  of  God.  To  enforce  a  wick- 
ed law,  as  a  magistrate,  is  much  more  wicked  than 
to  violate,  in  single  cases,  a  just  law.  The  evil  is 
greater,  longer,  and  more  widely  felt.  To  forget 
our  social  duties  to  our  neighbors,  is,  in  some  re- 
spects, a  greater  evil,  than  to  cherish  sin  in  our  own 
hearts,  for  the  same  reason.  But  in  the  well  in- 
structed, living,  loving  disciple,  the  holy  affections 
that  rule  his  heart  will  secure  the  control  of  holy 
principles  over  every  part  of  his  outward  life.  The 
corrupt  politician  is  not  a  good  Christian.  The 
maker  and  executor  of  wicked  laws  cannot  truly 
and  really  obey  God  (from  the  heart)  They  "  tithe 
the  mint,  anise  and  cumin,"  yet  allow  their  con- 
duct, when  it  concerns  the  social  welfare  of  thousands 
8* 


90  HOME. 

to  be  such  as  God  abhors,  and  his  word  condemns. 
"  The  weightier  matters"  are  not  done.  Not  so  can 
they  please  or  honor  God.  How  is  it  men,  who  in 
other  points  of  view,  seem  to  be  good  men,  justify 
themselves  in  such  errors  ?  The  truth  is  this,  our 
consciences  are  at  rest,  and  we  hope  for  Divine  favor, 
when  we  conform  to  the.  standard  of  duty  in  our  own 
minds;  no  matter  how  erroneous  or  even  criminal 
that  standard  may  be,  in  fact,  when  compared  with 
the  law  of  God.  Hope  and  peace,  and  devout  af- 
fections can  exist  with  almost  any  amount  of  error 
and  sin.  And  the  moment  the  supremacy  of  any- 
thing but  the  teachings  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and 
Word  of  God  is  admitted,  that  instant  we  lay  the 
basis  for  false  hopes,  peace  which  comes  only  from 
our  own  hearts,  and  not  from  God  ;  and  for  a  devo- 
tion, that,  however  sincere,  pleases  God  no  more 
than  the  equally  sincere  worship  of  the  Brahmin  at 
the  shrine  of  Siva.  Isaiah  i.  and  LVIII. 

No  doubt,  the  excesses  of  party  strife  had  some 
influence  in  destroying  the  remnants  of  piety  in 
Home.  But  there,  as  elsewhere,  the  neglect  to  en- 
force the  supremacy  of  God's  law,  and  the  con- 
sequent divorce  of  men's  religion  and  politics,  had 
a  far  more  disastrous  influence.  An  eminent  states- 
man, and  true  Christian  once  said  to  me,  that  noth- 
ing had  so  much  contributed  to  expose  the  minis- 


HOME.  91 

try  to  contempt,  in  our  country,  as  their  agency,  in 
this  divorce  of  spiritual  religion  from  the  political 
and  social  duties  of  life.  Men  want  a  religion  that 
Will  regulate  their  daily  business,  their  "  selling 
lumber,"  their  voting,  their  travelling,  their  social 
visits,  their  entire  life.  Such  a  religion  honors  its 
great  Author;  and  the  vivid  and  tender  and  bold 
enforcement  of  its  claims,  will  clothe  his  ministers 
with  almost  Divine  power. 


92 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Relics  of  faith — A  mothers  spirit  in  heaven — Old  associa- 
tions— The  illustration — Old  books — Conscience  recog- 
nizes the  truth — Literature  and  religion —  The  Li- 
braries— Home,  a  mission  field ! — The  faithful  preacher 
— Social  prayer  revived — The  "  new  commandment" 
obeyed — Religion  and  education. 

THE  stately  ship  that 

"  Walked  the  waters  like  a  thing  of  life," 
is  driven  on  the  rocks,  and  the  power  of  the  waves 
breaks  her  strength,  despoils  her  of  her  beauty,  and 
scatters  the  fragments  along  the  sands.  Still,  in 
every  piece,  though  it  is  incapable  of  giving  again 
a  home  and  a  shelter  to  the  bold  sailor,  the  eye  of 
skill  sees  proofs  of  what  it  once  was.  Science 
could  even  tell  her  tonnage,  her  model,  from  pieces 
hardly  worth  saving  for  fire-wood.  There  were 
relics  of  the  shipwreck  of  the  faith  in  the  churches 
of  Home,  long  after  they  became  "  dead,"  so  dead 
that  all  hope  of  recovery  by  a  power  from  within 
had  ceased.  But  they  were  few.  Thirty  years  ago 
there  were  only  about  twenty  in  all  the  town  who 


HOME.  93 

even  professed  to  be  converted  persons,  or  to  have 
had  any  other  religious  experience  than  other  world- 
ly persons.  Neither  of  the  pastor's  were  of  the 
number.  One  of  them  not  only  openly  admitted 
it,  but  ridiculed  all  pretences  to  regeneration,  in 
any  other  sense  than  a  reformation  from  vice.  Still, 
and  it  often  surprised  me,  the  people  habitually 
made  a  distinction  between  the  converted  and  those 
who  were  not !  Those  who  did  not  believe  that 
conversion,  or  any  internal,  spiritual  renovation  of 
man's  affections  was  necessary  to  fit  them  for  heav- 
en, still  saw  there  was  a  difference  between  those 
who  loved  God  and  those  who  did  not  Its  nature 
few  had  any  idea  of;  but  none  doubted  that  those 
who  spoke  of  their  sense  of  sin,  their  peace,  their 
hopes,  their  joys,  their  Saviour,  had  found  in  re- 
ligion something  that  most  men  had  not.  The  lives 
of  such  persons  were  watched  with  great  eagerness. 
Every  error,  every  passion,  every  natural  foible  was 
noted,  in  contrast  with  the  feelings  of  the  heart,  in 
whirh  the  converted  told  them  the  basis  of  piety 
was  laid.  The  few  pious,  at  this  time,  were  either 
aged  persons,  or  in  middle  life,  with  perhaps  two 
exceptions.  One  of  these,  a  beautiful  flower,  in  all 
the  sweetness  of  its  bloom,  was  cut  down  before 
the  Christian  character  was  matured,  though  not  be- 
fore intimate  friends  had  learned  to  love  it,  and 


94 


hope  much  from  its  fruit.  Blessed  mother !  tliou 
art  among  the  holy  ones,  who  stand  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Lord !  If  thou  dost  ever  stop  praising, 
and  cease  to  strike  thy  harp  in  the  heavenly  choir, 
is  it  not  to  pity  human  woe  ;  to  succor  thy  tempted 
child  ;  to  wipe  away  the  penitent  tear  from  the 
burning  cheek,  the  cold  sweat  of  remorse  from  the 
brow,  and  pour  consolation  into  the  broken  heart  ? 
Are  not  these  the  work  of  the  ministering  spirits  ? 
Did  not  the  eye  of  boyhood  feast  on  the  spiritual 
beauty  of  thy  face,  the  beauty  of  death,  when  the 
eye  filled  with  rapture  saw  "  within  the  veil,"  and 
the  spirit  tasted  heavenly  manna,  to  give  it  vigor  for 
its  upward  flight  ?  Once  thou  didst  recall  the  mind 
from  the  heavenly  vision.  Calling  the  little,  the 
only  son  to  thy  couch,  the  thin,  wasted  hand,  whose 
soft  touch  is  never  forgotten,  parted  his  light  hair ; 
and  with  many  a  murmured  prayer  thou  didst  in- 
voke the  orphan's  God  to  be  his  father.  "Mother, 
I  give  him  to  you,  train  him  up  for  God,"  broke 
from  thy  dying  lips.  And  then  thou  didst  leave  the 
body  of  death  to  put  on  immortality.  Mother,  is 
thy  son  forgotten,  amid  the  blaze  of  the  glory  of 
the  celestial  city  ?  Does  not  the  glorious  One  still 
wear  our  nature  ?  Is  he  not  still  "  touched  with 
the  feeling  of  our  infirmities."  and  alive  to  human 
sympathies  ?  And  when  the  circle  of  earth's  wor- 


HOME..  95 

shippers  bow  before  him,  does  He  not  bid  them 
cherish  every  pure  emotion  of  our  nature  ?  Is  a 
mother's  love  banished  from  Heaven  ?  Art  thou 
not  saying  to  thy  child,  "Hasten,  put  on  the  robes 
of  holy  light  the  Lamb  giveth  thee,  and  come  up  hith- 
er !"  And  when  the  Lord  revealed  himself,  in  mer- 
cy to  thy  child,  and  said  his  sins  were  forgiven,  wert 
thou  not  there  ?  Was  it  not  thy  form,  thy  face,  thy 
smiles,  that  formed  a  part  of  the  cloud  of  glory  that 
surrounded  Him,  when  his  word  of  peace  was 
spoken  ?  Aye,  and  thou  wilt  welcome  him,  with 
all  a  mother's  holy  heart,  when,  perhaps  thy  own 
gentle  hand  does  death's  office,  to  open  before  his 
eyes  the  glory  on  which  thou  didst  look,  when  thy 
dying  lips  blessed  him.  Blessed  mother,  thy  son 
will  come  !  He  longs  to  meet  thee  ! 

The  few  really  pious,  surrounded  and  chilled  by 
the  atmosphere  of  death,  just  lived;  their  light 
shone  not  brightly  enough  to  penetrate  the  thick 
gloorn  ;  or  at  least  to  scatter  it. 

Those  who  love  error,  know  well  how  hard  it  is 
to  root  out  a  traditionary  respect  for  the  truths  of 
pure  religion.  The  very  words  of  the  language 
have  the  truth  so  associated  with  them,  that  no  hu- 
man skill  can  ever  change  the  impression  they 
make  on  the  mind.  Those  who  sought  to  destroy 
the  faith  of  the  sons  of  the  Pilgrims  knew  it  well. 


96  HOME. 

Hence  in  years  gone  by,  their  watchful  endeavor  to 
avoid  all  those  terms  in  customary  use,  to  desig- 
nate the  several  truths  of  our  faith.  While  they 
spoke  of  the  "  atonement,"  it  was  in  vain  to 
try  to  destroy  the  sense  of  dependance  on  the 
blood  of  Christ  for  the  pardon  of  our  sins.  While 
they  told  of  the  regeneration,  men  would  not  for- 
get that  their  fathers,  and  even  a  few  who  still  lived, 
thought  that  man's  nature  was  corrupted,  and  need- 
ed an  entire  moral  change  to  prepare  him  for  heav- 
en. The  omission  of  the  old  Doxologies  of  praise 
to  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  alarmed  the 
consciences  of  men  who  had  long  and  complacent- 
ly listened  to  teachings  that  denied  the  doctrine  of 
the  Triune  God.  "  Our  fathers  worshipped  in  this 
mountain."  The  feeling  the  words  express,  ap- 
plies equally  to  the  places,  names  and  forms  of 
worship  and  faith.  Men  will  embrace  error,  be- 
cause it  is  preached  in  the  house  where  their  fathers 
praised  God ;  they  would  reject  it  in  another  place. 
So  their  associations  with  the  truth  linger,  also, 
after  its  power  over  the  mind  and  heart  is  lost,  so 
far  as  their  salvation  from  sin  is  concerned. 

One  day  I  sat  by  the  side  of  one  of  the  most  in- 
telligent and  conscientious  members  of  the  church 
in  Home ;  one  who  had  much  semblance,  if  not 
the  reality  of  spiritual  life.  Incidentally,  the  pas- 


HOME.  97 

tor  was  spoken  of  as  not  believing  in  the  atone- 
ment. It  was  referred  to,  merely  as  a  matter  per- 
fectly well  known.  She  became  silent,  her  eyes 
filled  with  tears.  Her  heart  was  grieved.  For 
twenty  years  she  had  heard  the  great  sacrifice  for 
sin  denied,  derided,  treated  as  a  heathenish  corrup- 
tion of  the  faith.  Still,  she  could  not  believe  it  pos- 
sible that  the  pastor  denied  the  atonement !  He  cer- 
tainly spoke  of  it  in  his  sermons.  And,  in  her 
mind,  the  power  of  old  associations  connected  the 
good  old  Bible  doctrine  with  the  word,  in  spite  of 
years  of  false  teaching.  Her  own  hopes  rested,  in- 
deed, on  the  faith  of  the  fathers.  She  has  gone  to 
prove  the  strength  of  that  tried  foundation !  When 
did  it  ever  fail  ?  "  The  heavens  being  on  fire,  shall 
be  dissolved,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fer- 
vent heat,"  but  none  who  ever  reposed  on  the  aton- 
ing blood  of  Christ  for  the  pardon  of  sin  shall  find 
their  hopes  vain.  Such  faith  will  purify  their  hearts, 
and  teach  them  holy  living,  support  them  in  holy 
dying,  and  open  the  gates  of  His  revealed  glory  to 
the  ascending  spirit. 

Another  thing  contributed  to  keep  alive  tradition- 
ary respect  for  the  gospel.  It  was  the  multitude  of 
old  choice  books  in  Home  ;  the  legacy  of  a  reading, 
praying  race.  Every  old  family  dwelling  has  its 
relics  ;  a  volume  of  Baxter,  Bunyan,  Mather,  Han- 
9 


98  HOME. 

cock,  Clark,  Owen,  Jeremy  Taylor,  Henry,  More, 
Carew,  Gill,  Latimer,  Horseley,  and  a  score  more, 
known,  read  and  loved  by  the  earlier  generations. 
Some  are  sadly  worn,  the  old  clasps  gone,  a  cover 
lost,  chapters  torn  out,  volumes  missing ;  but 
enough  left,  and  taken  often  enough  from  the  old 
closets,  for  curiosity's  sake,  to  keep  alive  some  re- 
gard for  the  faith  of  the  fathers.  Probably  a 
thousand  unmutilated  volumes  of  choice  and  rare 
old  books  still  exist  in  Home.  Those  who  never 
read,  will  not  hear  of  parting  with  them !  They 
are  family  relics,  and  bear  a  sacred  character.  In 
such  an  old  torn  volume  I  first  feasted  on  that  great 
poem  for  all  ages,  the  Pilgrim's  Progress.  Invested 
with  all  the  charms  and  spirit  of  poetry,  without  its 
forms,  more  true  to  human  nature  than  even  Shak- 
speare,  rich  in  all  jhe  varied  forms  of  Christian  ex- 
perience ;  it  is  a  romance  to  charm  the  young,  a 
guide  full  of  wisdom  for  the  most  gifted  and  ma- 
tured. Bunyan  was  a  man  for  all  ages  of  our  race, 
for  all  time.  What  a  crown  is  his  ! 

Words  are  ideas  to  most  men,  "  living  powers," 
as  Coleridge  has  it,  not  the  mere  vehicles  of 
thought.  The  power  of  the  old  associations  I 
speak  of  was  occasionally  felt,  when  by  any  chance 
a  preacher  of  the  old  faith  entered  the  pulpits  of 
Home.  Such  instances  were  rare,  especially  after 


HOME.  99 

exchanges  with  erroneous  teachers  ceased.  But 
their  sermons  were  never  forgotten,  and  were  often 
referred  to.  If  the  pastors,  in  hours  of  sorrow,  or 
at  other  times,  preached  with  more  solemnity  and 
point  than  usual,  the  remark  ever  was,  "  Why,  he 
preached  almost  like  Mr.  So-and-so ;"  showing,  that 
the  occasional  exhibitions  of  gospel  truth,  and  the 
force  of  old  associations  had  established  in  the 
mind  a  higher  standard  of  truth  and  of  pastoral  fidel- 
ity than  that  to  which  they  were  used.  In  a  few 
instances,  in  later  times,  conversions  to  Christ  may 
be  traced  to  this  source.  The  old  cherished  family 
bibles,  in  which  often  the  names  of  ten  genera- 
tions are  written  ;  the  old  tomb-stones  that  even 
now  are  hardly  legible,  on  which  their  names  were 
again  inscribed ;  the  old  family  mansions  in  which 
they  prayed  and  gave  thanks ;  the  old  books  they 
loved  to  read,  all  these  must  pass  away,  and  mingle 
with  the  dust  before  these  old  and  blessed  associa- 
tions shall  die  out  of  the  mind,  and  the  Puritan's 
faith  become  a  matter  of  mere  history,  even  if  none 
of  the  living  race  still  loved  it  and  knew  its  saving 
power. 

God  has  many-ways  of  reviving  the  power  of  a 
pure  faith  in  his  churches.  Sometimes  he  comes 
in  majesty,  "  suddenly  to  his  temple,"  and  a  com- 
munity is  born  in  a  day.  But,  in  every  case  I  ever 


100  HOME. 

knew,  such  displays  of  his  grace  occurred  where  a 
large  number  of  minds  had  been  before  instructed 
in  the  truth.  The  power  of  sympathy  is  essential 
to  an  extended  revival ;  and  that  cannot  exist  much 
beyond  the  circle  of  those  who,  in  their  understand- 
ings, assent  to  the  same  general  principles  of  faith. 
Grace  acts  according  to,  and  not  against  these  and 
all  other  laws  of  our  nature.  In  a  town  where  re- 
ligion had  so  decayed,  as  in  Home,  a  longer  pro- 
cess of  regeneration  was  needed.  The  seed  was  to 
be  sown  by  the  way-side,  in  the  fields,  everywhere, 
'  here  a  little,  there  a  little,'  as  time  and  changes 
fitted  individual  minds  to  receive  it.  When  so 
much  is  to  be  done,  and  the  soil  to  be  tilled  is  so 
little  prepared  to  bring  fruit  to  perfection,  many 
agencies  are  needed,  before  the  golden  harvest  is 
ripe.  And  these  agencies  are  not  all  strictly  reli- 
gious in  their  character.  The  revival  of  literature 
preceded  the  religious  awakening  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  Indeed  the  latter  would  hardly  have  been 
possible,  without  the  first  to  prepare  for  it,  unless 
at  the  expense  of  three  more  such  centuries  of 
blood  as  followed  the  first  proclamation  of  the  gos- 
pel. The  same  work  indeed,  was  to  be  done,  but 
by  a  new  power,  that  of  the  press,  which  gives  to 
one  mind  the  influence  of  ten  thousand  tongues. 

In  Home  the  first  agencies  in  the  revival  of  a 
pure  faith  were  similar. 


HOME.  101 

Two  young  men,  men  of  intelligence  and  serious 
thought,  hut  not  pious,  were  the  first  to  do  anything 
that  acted  permanently  on  the  popular  mind.  A 
social  library,  comprising  the  best  works  in  history 
and  general  literature  was  started,  by  their  agency. 
It  was  the  source  of  renewed  thought  in  many 
minds.  Quickened  intellects  will  often  turn  to  re- 
ligious ideas, — some  more  naturally  than  others. 
Emotion  follows  thought,  as  well  as  excites  it.  And 
the  value  of  the  religious  character  that  is  formed, 
often  depends  chiefly  on  the  state  of  the  mind  be- 
fore it  is  subjected  to  the  control  of  holy  love. 
That  these  young  men,  one  of  whom  had  a  pious 
mother,  and  the  other  a  native  of  another  place,  had 
ideas  of  religion  much  in  advance  of  their  townsmen 
is  certain.  They  saw  the  darkness  around  them. 
They  sought  to  remove  it,  by  such  means  as  an 
awakened,  but  not  renewed  heart  may  employ. 
Besides  the  general  impulse  they  and  a  few  others 
gave  to  reading  and  thought,  they  formed  an  exten- 
sive moral  and  religious  library.  It  embraced  the 
most  valuable  religious  literature  then  accessible,  at 
cheap  rates,  with  not  a  little  of  error  and  some  fol- 
ly. Bat  it  placed  the  works  of  Baxter,  Law,  Watts, 
Doddridge,  and  the  sermons  of  some  eminent  Ame- 
rican writers,  together  with  much  religious  biogra- 
phy, in  the  hands  of  many  who  had  no  other  means 
9« 


102  HOME. 

of  learning  the  time  nature  of  the  gospel.  True,  the 
"  veil "  still  remained  on  their  hearts  "  in  reading 
these  volumes,  as  well  as  the  Bible.  There  was 
none  to  teach  them  what  these  things  meant.  The 
pastors  preached  nothing,  or  else  in  opposition  to 
the  truths  the  books  contained.  Still,  it  was  a 
dawning  of  light  It  supplied  the  only  religious 
reading  known  to  the  generation  then  on  the  stage, 
save  their  occasional  glances  at  the  pages  of  some 
old  Puritan  volume.  The  few  pious  took  great  de- 
light in  them.  The  naturally  thoughtful  read  them, 
with  care,  and  the  fallow  ground  of  their  hearts 
was  broken  up,  and  in  some  measure  prepared  to 
hear  the  truth  preached.  In  a  few,  in  humble  life, 
these  books  perhaps,  became  the  means  of  con- 
version. 

Some  such  have  died,  of  whom  the  Christian  had 
hope,  though  their  light  was  feeble.  Piety  ob- 
scured by  error,  repressed  by  contempt,  with  none 
to  cheer  the  heart,  and  with  imperfect  views  of  its 
obligations,  has  very  little  active  power,  in  the  igno- 
rant and  obscure.  And  grace  does  not  so  violate 
nature,  and  set  at  nought  the  social  constitution  of 
man,  as  to  make  it  otherwise,  save  in  rare  cases. 

I  have  said  that  many  towns  became  in  fact,  mis- 
sionary fields.  Home  was  so,  in  every  important 
respect,  if  a  large  population,  living  in  ignorance  or 


HOME.  108 

neglect  of  Christ  constitutes  one.  So  one  of  the 
few  godly  pastors  near  Home  regarded  it.  He  was 
a  young,  ardent  man,  pious  in  spirit,  not  without 
genius,  trained  in  those  clear  views  of  doctrinal 
truth  that  distinguish  the  writings  of  his  eminent 
instructor,  the  late  venerable  pastor  of  Franklin. 
This  young  man  became  pastor  of  a  church  in  a 
town  adjoining  which  a  little  light  lingered.  Hence- 
forth his  life  was  one  of  toil.  His  style  of  preach- 
ing was  bold,  fearless,  manly,  full  of  reasoning, 
sometimes  lofty  in  thought,  and  sublime  in  denun- 
ciations of  woe  to  the  guilty.  It  lacked  somewhat 
the  tender  spirit  of  Christ  But  for  some  classes  of 
minds  it  was  just  what  was  needed  to  break  the 
slumbers  of  ages.  He  sought  out  the  scattered  few 
who  still  loved  the  old  ways  in  which  the  fathers 
trod.  His  labors  were  blessed  to  the  people  of 
Home.  He  brought  them  together,  for  the  first 
time  in  eighty  years  of  the  annals  of  Home,  for  so- 
cial prayer  and  praise.  Henceforth  the  social  pray- 
er meeting  was  never  lost.  Two  or  three  met  to- 
gether, and  the  Lord  was  there.  He  placed  in  their 
hands  those  volumes  of  great  and  clear  thought, 
Emmons1  Sermons.  He  preached  the  gospel  from 
house  to  house,  wherever  he  could  gain  access. 
Few  of  the  rich  welcomed  him  ;  many  cursed  him. 
His  preaching,  in  keeping  with  his  model,  was  full 


104  HOME. 

of  instruction.  A  Christian  formed  under  its  in- 
fluence must  needs  be  a  thinking  one.  It  was  very 
discriminating  in  respect  to  the  nature  and  proofs 
of  holiness  in  the  heart  and  life.  It  tried  the  spirit 
most  thoroughly.  None  could  easily  be  familiar 
with  such  books  and  such  sermons,  and  mistake 
his  own  true  character.  The  growth  of  piety  in 
the  hearts  of  those  who  were  spiritual  before,  was 
marked.  They  became  active.  They  began  to 
reprove  sin,  to  rebuke  error,  to  warn  them  to  re- 
pentance. The  Lord  added  a  few  to  their  number, 
including  one  or  two  of  the  most  respected  and  in- 
telligent women  in  Home.  Great  decision  of  char- 
acter marked  these  struggling  disciples.  If  some, 
at  times,  showed  a  want  of  meekness,  it  was  true 
that  their  trials  were  severe.  But  in  general,  their 
meekness  was  great.  And  every  one  had  occasion 
to  say,  "  behold  how  these  love  one  another." 
They  lived,  in  most  instances,  at  a  distance  from 
each  other.  There  was  very  little  to  bring  them 
together,  save  the  love  of  Christ.  And  when  they 
met,  it  was  like  the  meeting  of  tenderly  attached 
friends.  Their  faces  shone.  For  hours  I  have  seen 
two  or  three  stand,  exposed  to  the  sun's  hot  rays, 
or  the  winter's  cold,  talking  of  their  hopes,  joys, 
sorrows ;  of  their  Christ,  the  fountain  of  their  life. 
Neighbors  would  pass  by,  and  speak  to  them  ;  hours 


HOME.  105 

would  elapse,  but  wholly  absorbed  in  their  great 
theme,  they  knew  it  not.  It  was  the  exhibition  of 
new  and  strange  feelings.  For  the  first  time  in  al- 
most a  century,  the  power  of  brotherly  love  was  set 
before  the  minds  of  the  people  of  Home.  They 
were  mocked,- insulted,  derided,  sneered  at,  laugh- 
ed at,  but  still,  more  and  more  respected,  every  day. 
People  wondered  what  they  found  in  religion  to 
talk  so  much  about !  Some  were  accused  of  neg- 
lecting their  social  duties,  to  wander  away  to  dis- 
tant meetings,  or  to  talk  and  pray ;  but  the  accuser 
knew  better.  Some  few  were  persons  of  great  in- 
telligence and  high  standing.  It  was  a  great  mys- 
tery to  many,  how  such  persons  could  take  the  de- 
light they  did  in  visiting  some  of  the  most  obscure 
and  illiterate  persons  in  town.  "  It  was  very 
strange,"  it  was  said,  "  that  religion  need  lead  peo- 
ple into  low  company  !"  As  if  such  a  term  could 
apply  to  those  in  whom  the  Saviour  had  taken  up 
his  abode !  True,  they  were  ignorant  of  literature. 
Their  language  was  not  always  elegant  or  correct 
Their  logic  was  worse  ;  but  they  loved  Christ,  and 
that  changed  their  whole  nature.  That  refined 
their  manners.  The  Bible,  always  in  their  hands, 
and  loved,  gave  dignity  to  their  language  and  topics 
for  conversation.  The  Lord,  who  is  "  the  wisdom 
of  God,"  taught  them  truths  more  important  than 


106  HOME. 

any  known  to  those  who  despised  them.  The  con- 
stant familiarity  with  great  truths  educated  their 
minds.  How  often  have  I  noticed  a  feeble  intellect 
made  vigorous  by  this  new,  living  power ! 

Strange  that  sin  should  so  blind  men  that  they 
should  ever  dream  that  hearty  love  for  the  Holy 
Author  of  man's  intellect,  could  do  otherwise  than 
ennoble  the  mind!  Look  at  the  world's  history. 
Just  where  the  faith  of  Christ  has  the  most  power, 
there  the  masses  of  mind  are  best  educated.  No 
material  progress  or  improvements  in  education 
come  from  those  who  are  not  humble  Christians. 
The  greatest  discovery  in  modern  times  was  made 
on  Plymouth  Rock,  by  Carver,  Alden  and  Bradford. 
It  is  the  Free  School,  open  to  every  child,  rich 
and  poor,  without  pay,  and  sustained  by  the  pro- 
perty of  the  community.  That  gave  power  to  the 
press.  That  is  now  renovating  the  world.  That 
is  destroying  superstition.  That  converts  the  des- 
potisms of  the  continent  into  wise,  pati  iotic  govern- 
ments. A  people  educated  in  Free  Schools  can- 
not be  oppressed.  Give  the  American  slaves  a 
year's  schooling,  and  no  earthly  power  could  rivet 
their  fetters  another  hour.  The  masses  of  mankind 
will  owe  their  social  redemption  to  the  little  band 
of  Plymouth  Rock. 

As  with  masses  of  men,  so  with  smaller  bodies 


HOME.  107 

and  individual  minds.  A  religious  community  read 
more,  think  more,  converse  more  on  literary  topics, 
write  more  for  the  press  than  one  where  the  power 
of  the  gospel  is  lost,  either  by  the  prevalence  of 
errors  in  theory,  or  corrupt  morals.  For  example, 
in  a  little  town  in  Massachusetts,  inhabited  wholly 
by  shoe-makers,  and  embracing  less  than  2000  in- 
habitants, there  are  more  Literary  Periodicals  taken, 
than  in  the  Capital  of  Virginia.  This  is  an  indica- 
tion of  an  almost  universal  truth — Piety  and  know- 
ledge, in  the  masses,  are  ever  united.  Corrupt  re- 
ligion, and  you  dethrone  the  power  that  gives  en- 
ergy to  the  intellect.  That  power  is  holy  love,  the 
great  source  of  activity  in  all  the  Universe  of  God. 
In.  the  revival  of  a  purer  faith  in  Home,  there  has 
been  a  marked  increase  of  attention  to  education, 
more  thought,  more  reading  of  periodicals  and 
books,  more  production  of  literature.  In  a  word, 
all  the  evidences  of  a  better  educated  town.  The 
gospel  makes  the  simple  wise,  as  well  as  saves  the 
guilty  from  death. 


HOME. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  BELLE   OF  HOME. 

L  Life's  daim. 

WAS  she  beautiful  ?  Even  now  her  faded  face 
has  lines  of  beauty.  She  was  rather  above  the 
medium  stature.  Her  form,  constrained  by  no  cor- 
sage, was  perfect  in  outline.  Dressed  in  a  taste 
partly  her  own,  and  partly  conformed  to  the  mode, 
her  beauty  was  rather  shaded,  not  injured  by  it. 
Her  skin  was  pure  as  the  Parian  marble.  Every 
motion  was  graceful,  easy.  Her  dancing  was  like 
that  of  the  fairies.  Her  features  were  well  formed ; 
but  the  broad  forehead,  and  clear  hazel  eye,  full  of 
intelligence,  gave  an  expression  of  dignity  rather 
than  gentleness  to  her  face.  Yet  the  gentlest  of 
human  beings  was  she.  She  would  not  tread  on 
the  worm  or  the  ant  Had  they  not  life,  and  a 
right  to  their  share  of  enjoyment?  Of  all  our 
youth,  none  excelled  her  in  the  vigor  of  her  strong 
intellect,  and  sound  judgment ;  none  were  better 
versed  in  literature.  She  was  rather  proud  ;  proud 
of  an  old,  honored  name  ;  proud  of  station,  wealth, 


HOME.  109 

intellect,  education,  beauty,  and  the  applause  all 
these  gave  her.  Is  it  strange?  Yet  who  more 
truly  modest?  Who  less  assuming?  Who  more 
gentle  to  inferiors  !  Perhaps  the  very  consciousness 
of  her  own  elevated  position  saved  her  from  harsh- 
ness to  them  ;  it  does  so  affect  proud  persons.  But 
who  had  a  warmer  heart  ?  Nay,  who  united  such 
self-control  with  a  more  intensely  passionate  nature  ? 
She  was  not  vain  ;  pride  prevented  that.  Enemies 
she  could  not  have  ;  she  was  not  vied,  for  she 
treated  none  unkindly.  She  loved  gaiety ;  and  the 
circles  to  which  she  had  access  were  gay.  They 
were  the  wealthy,  educated,  but  not  pious  circles  of 
Home  and  of  our  cities.  She  had  read  her  Bible  ; 
nor  were  religious  authors  forgotten.  But  there 
was  no  example  of  piety,  in  her  father's  house ;  no 
early  education  of  the  mind  and  affections  under 
the  influence  of  the  gospel.  She  was  "  without 
God,"  though  not  without  high  hopes  of  present 
and  future  joys.  She  was  kind  to  the  poor,  when 
it  came  in  her  way ;  but  what  could  she  know  of 
poverty  ?  What  should  call  the  courted  and  petted 
daughter  of  luxury  to  the  abodes  of  want  and  sin? 
She  loved,  and  was  loved  in  return.  He  was 
one  whom  she  had  known  from  childhood.  In  in- 
tellectual strength  he  was  her  fit  companion.  In 
learning,  his  University  sent  forth  few  equals,  of 
10 


110  HOME. 

his  years.  His  manly  person  and  manly  character 
were  all  that  woman  could  ask  in  the  object  of  her 
passionate  love.  And  her  love  was  passionate ; 
all  the  strength  of  her  nature  was  poured  into  this 
tide  of  love.  Was  he  not  worthy  to  be  her  heart's 
idol !  His  very  calling  seemed  to  sanctify  such  an 
idolatrous  love.  He  was  about  to  become  the  pas- 
tor of  a  refined,  intelligent  and  rich  church,  in  a 
county  seat.  That  he  was  a  truly  converted  man, 
nobody  in  their  circle  supposed.  Neither  they,  nor 
the  church,  nor  he  deemed  it  important.  He  was 
amiable,  gifted,  serious ;  he  had  made  it  his  profes- 
sion. True,  there  had  been  whispers  of  excesses 
over  the  cup,  in  college.  But  that,  of  course,  a 
clergyman  would  avoid.  Besides,  in  those  days 
every  gentleman,  as  a  part  of  the  dignity  of  his  char- 
acter, must  have  a  dozen  kinds  of  liquors  on  his 
sideboard.  There  was  no  danger.  Still,  for  some 
family  reason  their  union  was  not  to  take  place  for 
two  or  three  years.  What  matter  ?  Should  they 
not  meet,  write,  and  ever  love  ?  Besides,  she  was 
not  quite  conscious  of  fitness  for  the  duties  of  a  par- 
son's wife;  and  she  was  young;  only  nineteen.  Jf 
life  continued,  what  promise  of  the  future  could 
be  fairer  ?  Earth's  blessings  and  joys  were  sure, 
and  heaven's  were  not  so  very  hard  to  obtain. 
What  evil  had  she  ever  done  ?  So  dawned  life  on 
ELLEN  C . 


H  O  M  K  .  Ill 

II.  The  day. 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  of  such  a  thing  ?  why  Ellen 
C.  is  a  going  to  have  a  Sunday  school,  to  teach  all 
the  children  in  the  town  to  be  Christians!  She 
must  be  crazy."  "  Where  did  she  get  such  foolish 
whims  ?  Such  things  were  never  heard  of  in  Home, 
before.  True,  in  old  times,  I  have  heard  my 
father  say,  they  used  to  teach  children  the  cate- 
chism. But  that  has  long  been  laid  aside,  and  with 
good  reason.  Nobody  now  believes  that  children 
need  any  religion  to  fit  them  for  heaven." 

"  Very  true,  deacon  ;  it  is  of  no  use  to  try  to 
make  Christians  of  children.  They  are  all  inno- 
cent, till  they  grow  up.  And  it  is  time  enough  then 
to  attend  to  religion." 

"  I  agree  with  you,  'Squire.  Ellen  must  be  crazy. 
Where  did  she  get  the  idea  ?" 

"  My  wife  was  there  yesterday,  and  says  she  has 
just  returned  from  Portland.  She  says  Ellen  in- 
sulted her." 

"  Insulted  your  wife  !     A  lady  like  Ellen !" 

"  It  amounted  to  that,  deacon.  My  wife  was  there, 
on  a  social  visit.  Ellen  would  scarcely  talk  of  any- 
thing but  religion,  all  the  afternoon.  It  was  nothing 
but  "  faith,"  and  "  Christ,"  and  the  "  new  birth."  At 
last  she  got  my  wife  into  her  chamber  and  began 


112  HOME. 

to  warn  her  to  repent,  and  even  wept.  Finally  she 
offered  to  pray  with  her,  and  prayed  for  her  just  as 
if  she  was  a  heathen.  If  that  is  not  an  insult,  what 
is  ?  My  wife,  you  know,  was  a  member  of  our 
church  before  Ellen  was  born,  and  is  as  good  a 
Christian  as  any  woman  in  Home.  And  then,  to 
crown  all,  she  began  to  beg  her  to  pray  with  our 
children,  every  day,  that  they  might  become  Chris- 
tians. That,  I  suppose,  is  what  this  Sunday  school 
means." 

"  It  is  wonderful !  I  agree  with  you,  she  must  be 
crazy.  I  thought  such  things  had  ceased  among 
educated  and  enlightened  men." 

The  magistrate  was  an  old  member  of  our  church. 
And  truly,  the  town  was  in  an  uproar,  for  such  a 
quiet  one.  There  were  then  not  more  than  ten  or 
twelve  Sabbath  schools  in  our  land.  In  Home, 
religious  education  for  the  young  had  long  been 
voted  needless,  by  the  most  respectable  people  in 
town.  Out  of  the  little  circle  of  the  pious  it  was 
wholly  uncared  for.  Parents,  indeed,  taught  their 
children  to  avoid  gross  sins,  like  lying,  oaths,  and 
theft,  and  to  be  kind  and  obedient.  But  nobody 
thought  of  making  them  religious.  What  need 
of  it? 

Ellen  was  changed.  The  lover  of  worldly  plea- 
sure she  had  ceased  to  be.  The  Bible  was  her 


HOME.  113 

companion.  Her  closet  was  heaven  revealed  on 
earth.  She  loved  social  life,  as  much  as  ever ;  hut 
her  whole  aim  seemed  to  he  to  lead  her  friends  to 
Christ,  a  Saviour  of  whose  character  aud  offices 
both  they  and  she  had  been  profoundly  ignorant,  a 
year  before.  It  was  no  reformation  in  morals,  but 
a  change  in  the  heart,  that  formed  the  theme  of  her 
discourse.  The  sold,  laden  with  forgotten  sin,  and 
hastening  to  the  bar  of  God,  was  the  object  of  her 
prayers,  her  solicitude,  her  love.  Literature  and 
the  elegancies  of  life  were  not  forgotten  ;  but  the 
welfare  of  the  soul  was  first  in  her  daily  thoughts. 
The  'Squire  did  not  understand  such  feelings  ;  the 
deacon  did  not;  the  parson  did  not  This  love  for 
the  souls  of  men  was  a  novelty  in  their  circle. 
True,  the  few  pious  people  in  town  talked  so. 
But  they  were  all  persons  advanced  in  life.  "To 
see  one,"  as  the  minister's  wife  said,  "  so  young,  so 
intelligent  and  lovely,  at  the  age  when  she  ought  to 
enjoy  life,  adopting  such  views,  was  a  pity !" 

What  had  changed  gay  Ellen,  to  praying  Ellen? 
She  had  passed  the  summer  in  a  distant  state,  on 
a  visit  There  she  listened  to  the  preaching  of 
Payson.  Won  by  his  eloquence  to  attend  to  the 
truths  he  uttered,  the  Holy  Spirit  taught  her  that 
she  was,  what  she  had  hardly  ever  thought  of  be- 
fore, a  sinner  ready  to  perish,  without  a  Saviour. 
10* 


114  HOME. 

That  Saviour  was  soon  manifested  in  his  glory, 
and  received  as  the  object  of  love  and  worship. 
Her  strong  mind  soon  perceived  the  harmony  of 
the  whole  circle  of  divine  truths,  and  she  cordially 
embraced  them.  In  his  church  she  first  saw,  and 
at  once  appreciated  the  immense  value  of  a  Sabbath 
school,  then  a  novelty  in  the  land.  She  learned 
the  value  of  social  prayer.  As  she  thought  of 
Home,  her  view  of  the  objects  and  duties  of  life  at 
once  changed.  She  knew  there  were  a  few  Chris- 
tians, who  felt  as  she  now  did.  But  only  one  of 
them  moved  in  her  own  circle,  and  she  was  in  the 
decline  of  life.  Ellen  had  never  talked  with  her. 
But  it  seemed  so  easy  to  convince  enlightened 
people,  like  those  of  Home,  of  the  value  of  her  new 
hopes  and  plans,  that  she  could  not  expect  to  be 
opposed.  And  there  was  one  drop  of  sweetness  in 
her  cup.  Would  she  not  now  be  a  fitter  com- 
panion, a  better  pastor's  wife  for  her  betrothed  ? 
Then  came  the  alarming  question,  whether  he,  the 
chosen,  worshipped  one,  shared  in  such  feelings  ? 
He  had  never  spoken  of  them.  But  love  had  been 
their  theme ;  and  that  was  the  reason.  At  any  rate, 
she  would  know  very  soon.  She  could  not  write  to 
him,  on  such  a  subject  No,  the  first  hours  of  their 
joyful  meeting  should  be  devoted  to  the  topic. 
Surely  he  must  love  the  Saviour,  whose  love  it  was 
his  business  to  preach. 


HOME.  115 

Autumn  drew  near.  Ellen  returned  to  Home, 
and  began  at  once,  in  the  fulness  of  her  soul,  to  tell 
of  her  Saviour.  She  could  not  now  be  blind  to  the 
spiritual  state  of  her  friends.  All  loved  her,  and 
few,  therefore,  to  her  face,  treated  her  efforts  with 
any  want  of  respect  The  parson,  and  a  few  others, 
affected  to  regard  it  as  a  mere  change  in  the  intel- 
lectual views  of  religion,  induced  by  an  eloquent 
and  gifted  preacher.  Some  would  try  to  reason 
her  out  of  these  "  strange  ways,"  as  they  called  them. 
Some  opposed  her  with  earnestness,  with  bitter 
feelings.  A  few  scoffed.  But  her  arguments  and 
her  meekness  soon  quelled  that  A  small  number 
listened  with  deep  interest,  and  received  instruction 
and  profit  The  old  disciples  rejoiced  and  thanked 
God  that  one  so  beloved  and  fitted  for  wide  useful- 
ness was  added  to  their  number.  In  a  few  months 
she  announced  her  plan  of  a  Sabbath  school  for 
children.  If  her  conversation  had  excited  emotion, 
and,  with  the  worldly,  suspicions  of  her  sanity,  this 
confirmed  them.  The  great  idea  of  training  the 
young  for  Christ,  was  practically  lost  in  Home. 
Such  a  thing  as  a  pious  child  was  unknown.  Chil- 
dren and  young  people,  every  body  said,  went  to 
heaven  as  a  matter  of  course.  What  need  of  any 
change  in  them?  What  need  of  a  religious  school 
for  them  ?  Could  they  not  learn  to  read  the  Bible 


116  HOME. 

at  home  ?  Religion  was  for  the  mature  mind,  not 
for  infancy !— "  Out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  and 
sucklings,  Thou  hast  perfected  praise."  Our  Sa- 
viour's words  had  no  example  in  Home  to  illustrate 
its  meaning,  for  ages.  Its  meaning  was  unknown, 
as  far  as  it  referred  to  this  world. 

We  little  ones  wondered,  as  well  as  our  elders, 
what  this  same  Sabbath  school  might  mean.  But 
we  all  knew  Miss  Ellen  ;  and  an  eager  crowd  gath- 
ered in  the  school-house  on  a  bright  sunny  Sabbath, 
after  the  close  of  the  public  services  of  the  sanctua- 
ry. There  were  not  five  of  us  all  who  had  ever 
heard  any  one  pray,  but  the  ministers  in  the  pulpit. 
Only  two  in  the  vicinage  maintained  family  worship. 
Not  a  few  parents,  too,  had  come  with  their  chil- 
dren to  see  the  strange  thing.  And  when  Miss  El- 
len, with  her  gentle  voice  trembling  with  emotion, 
began  to  speak  to  us  of  prayer,  a  gaze  of  eager  cu- 
riosity was  fixed  on  her.  She  knelt  before  us,  none 
following  her  example,  and  began,  in  melting  ac- 
cents, to  invoke  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It 
was  strange,  crazy,  indeed, — so  ran  popular  feeling 
— for  a  woman  to  pray  so  publicly.  Who  ever 
heard  of  such  a  thing  ?  But  there  were  some  who 
rejoiced  at  it. 

It  was  truly  a  Primitive  Sunday  School !  No 
Sabbath  School  Libraries  were  then  in  being.  No 


HOME.  117 

Societies  to  create  them  existed.  Juvenile  litera- 
ture was  very  limited.  There  was  none  of  it  in  all 
Home  of  more  value  than  "  Goody  Two  Shoes,"  and 
similar  stories.  No  "  Question  Books"  nor  Bible 
Dictionaries  existed  for  Sunday  schools.  So  Miss 
Ellen  taught  us  to  recite  Watts'  hymns,  and  whole 
chapters  of  the  Bible.  They  who  recited  most  and 
best,  received  rewards,  such  as  the  teacher  of  the 
week  day-school  gave  us.  Those  who  learned  the 
most  during  the  season,  were  to  have  a  New  Testa- 
ment. Then  she  sung  with  us,  and  sometimes  ex- 
plained the  Scriptures  we  recited,  or  exhorted  us 
to  love  the  Saviour.  It  was  "  harmless,"  people  said, 
though  they  "  could  see  no  good  to  come  of  it" 
Good  ?  There  was  in  it  all  the  elements  of  the  re- 
generation of  the  town !  It  revived  in  men's  minds 
the  idea  that  the  young  needed  a  Saviour.  It  was  a 
lesson  on  the  need  of  a  new  heart,  that  impressed 
the  most  thoughtless.  True,  the  means  were  not  so 
adapted  to  awaken  thought  and  lead  the  heart  of  a 
child  to  Christ,  as  those  our  Sabbath  school  children 
now  enjoy.  But  the  lesson  was  never  lost  in  Home, 
on  the  community,  or  on  those  children.  Of  all 
that  youthful  group,  hardly  one  now  lives  a  prayer- 
less  life  !  Widely  scattered  over  the  world,  almost 
every  living  one  is  a  living  Christian.  Some  have 
already  entered  the  Permanent  Life  before  us,  leav- 


118  HOME. 

ing  behind  them  the  evidences  of  their  genuine  faith 
and  holy  love.  True,  other  agencies  have  led  them 
to  Christ;  but  here  the  seeds  of  life  were  sown. 
The  only  immediate  result  of  the  school,  was  the 
recalling  to  men's  minds  the  principles  before  ad- 
verted to.  But  that  was  a  great  stride  towards  a 
revival  of  a  pure  faith.  It  did  not  fail  to  call  forth 
opposition.  And,  before  the  summer  closed,  it  was 
an  understood  thing  that  "  Miss  Ellen  C.  was  crazy." 
Poor  Ellen  !  the  storm  was  indeed  near ! 

ID.  The  Cloud, 

"Ellen  C.  has  run  off!  Get  up  quick!  All  the 
neighbors  are  out  in  search  of  her.  She  took  no 
clothes  that  they  can  find,  and,  if  she  is  not  found 
before  night,  she  will  perish  in  the  cold."  Such 
was  the  startling  cry  that  roused  us,  before  daylight, 
one  of  the  coldest  March  mornings  I  ever  knew. 
The  snow  still  covered  the  ground.  The  night  had 
been  cold  and  frosty.  Clouds  hung  over  the  eastern 
sky,  and  everything  boded  a  cold  storm  of  sleet  and 
rain,  if  not  a  fall  of  snow.  A  few  hours  of  such 
weather  must  destroy  the  life  of  a  delicate  woman, 
without  much  clothing,  and  who  had  no  reason  to 
guide  her  feeble  steps.  The  day  was  one  of  intense 
anxiety.  More  than  an  hundred  men  searched  the 
barns,  fields  and  woods  for  miles  around.  No  trace 


HOME.  119 

of  her  was  to  be  found.  It  began  to  be  suspected 
that  suicide  had  closed  her  career. 

Ellen  was  indeed  insane.  What  had  broken 
down  that  glorious  intellect  ? 

Little  did  she  think  what  keen  reproaches,  what 
taunts,  what  scorn,  what  alienations  of  friends,  and 
malice  of  foes,  would  follow  her  efforts  to  win  the 
young  and  old  to  Christ.  But,  hard  as  the  struggle 
was,  all  this  could  be  borne,  for  Christ  was  honored. 
He  had  suffered,  and  his  followers  must. 

But  there  were  pangs  in  store  for  her,  she  had 
never  looked  for.  He,  the  loved  one,  the  idolized, 
treated  her  new  hopes  and  joys  as  enthusiastic  folly, 
or  worse  !  And,  worse  than  all,  it  began  to  be  whis- 
pered that  the  wine  cup  was  so  often  in  his  hands, 
that  honor  and  reputation  would  soon  be  lost,  if  it 
was  not  already.  The  heart's  worshipped  one, 
proved  unworthy !  Love  leaned  on  a  broken  reed 
that  pierced  its  heart.  The  shock  was  too  great  for 
such  a  passionate  nature.  Had  that  nature,  from 
infancy,  been  subjected  to  the  control  of  the  gospel, 
Si.  might  have  withstood  it ;  but  now,  after  days  and 
nights  of  sleepless  anguish,  the  glorious  intellect 
gave  way.  Reason  was  unstrung,  and  Ellen  be- 
came a  maniac  !  The  resources  of  the  healing  art 
were  employed  in  vain ;  reason  would  not  come 
back  at  their  bidding.  Who  did  not  mourn  that  so 


120  HOME. 

dark  a  cloud  had  passed  over  her  life  ?  Some  of 
the  enemies  of  her  holy  faith  said,  that  "  it  was 
just  what  they  had  expected  from  her  new  notions 
of  religion."  But  there  were  candid  men  who  saw 
further,  or  knew  better.  And  now,  she  had  left 
her  dwelling  in  the  night  time. 

Hundreds  of  willing  hearts  had  gathered,  before 
dawn,  from  a  wide  region  of  country,  with  lanterns 
and  rakes.  The  river  margin  was  minutely  exam- 
ined, and  no  trace  of  her  discovered.  Parts  of  it 
were  dragged.  The  ponds  were  still  closed  with 
ice,  save  one ;  but  no  discovery  was  made  there. 

Dividing  into  groups,  as  day  broke,  they  determi- 
ned to  leave  no  square  rod  of  ground  unexplored. 
Happily  the  weather  was  somewhat  warmer,  though 
it  was  almost  freezing.  Few  looked  to  see  Ellen 
alive.  The  woods,  fields,  fences,  barns,  houses, 
swamps,  all  were  explored  again  and  again.  About 
noon,  one  thought  he  saw  something  white  moving 
in  a  clump  of  bushes  he  had  just  passed.  Turning 
again,  poor  Ellen  was  found,  in  her  night  dress,  al- 
most exhausted.  She  had  wandered  about  for 
hours,  and  at  last  laid  down  in  the  shallow  water  in 
which  the  bushes  grew,  and  tried,  she  said,  to  drink 
herself  to  death,  when  she  found  them  too  shallow 
to  drown  her.  She  was  tenderly  conveyed  to  her 
home  again.  Little  evil  resulted  from  the  exposure, 


but  no  good.  To  this  day  she  is  the  same.  Her 
mania  is  generally  of  a  quiet,  harmless  sort.  Some- 
times she  is  some  great  one :  a  king,  a  mighty  con- 
queror. Her  favorite  fancy  is,  that  she  is  Christ, 
With  looks  of  dignity  and  kindness  she  will  de- 
mand the  homage  due  to  her  as  the  Saviour.  Of- 
ten she  will  suffer  herself  to  be  reasoned  out  of  her 
fancies;  and  then  her  conversation  is  both  spiritual 
and  instructive.  In  the  common  affairs  of  life  it  is 
not  seen,  save  in  the  indifference  to  them  all.  Like 
many  other  insane  persons,  no  one  ever  heard  Ellen 
allude  to  her  early  sorrows.  Even  now,  Christians 
love  to  visit  her.  Holy  love  to  her  Saviour  and  to 
all  who  bear  his  image,  so  fills  her  heart,  that  none 
can  doubt  the  reality  of  her  religious  affections. 
Insane,  the  intellect  may  be ;  but  conscience  will 
not  suffer  men  to  say  that  such  holy  affections  are 
insane.  They  know  they  are  right  and  rational. 
The  power  of  the  uncontrolled  human  affections 
may  unseat  reason ;  but  none  can  doubt  that  the 
love  of  God  rules  in  the  heart  Education  for  the 
intellect  only,  does  not  diminish  the  amount  of 
crime  or  insanity.  There's  not  an  affection  of  our 
nature  but  requires  more  care  and  nurture,  often 
more  restraint,  than  any  power  of  the  intellect. 
Religious  influence  in  early  youth,  is  the  only  power 
that  can  so  educate  the  heart  When  Sabbath 
11 


122  HOME. 

schools  and  parental  fidelity  have  fully  done  their 
office,  we  shall  need  no  insane  hospitals,  no  prisons. 
"  The  child  shall  be  an  hundred  years  old,"  because 
its  tender  spirit  shall  be  taught  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  formed  into  the  divine  model  of  holy  purity, 
intelligence  and  love. 


HOME.  123 


CHAPTER    IX. 

The  mission  sermons — Givers  not  losers — Weakness  made 
strong ;  folly,  wise — The  dream — The  poor  widow — The 
learned  taught  humility — The  sailor  preacher — The 
heart,  the  best  controversialist — New  sects  arise  when 
needed — The  sons  of  Home,  abroad — The  natural  heart 
shown. 

PERHAPS,  on  earth,  the  bright  intellect  of  Ellen  C. 
will  never  awaken  to  a  distinct  perception  of  the 
results  of  her  labors  and  prayers.  But  in  the  Spirit 
land,  where  the  mind  sees  all  effects  and  knows  all 
the  causes  of  human  action,  will  not  her  soul  re- 
joice ? 

Sabbath  schools  were  not  again  resumed  in  Home 
for  many  years ;  but  the  power  of  that  humble  ef- 
fort was  never  forgotten. 

In  pursuing  the  detail  of  causes  of  revived  faith,  I 
shall  dwell  most  on  those  which  relate  to  princi- 
ples of  action,  not  the  mere  detail  of  events. 

The  work  of  missions  to  the  heathen,  that  thrice 
blessed  labor  of  holy  zeal,  commenced  before  the 
separation  between  the  friends  and  foes  of  the  Pil- 
grim faith  was  complete.  In  all  classes,  many  op- 


124 


posed  the  plan,  at  first  But  many  others  were  in- 
terested, for  a  time,  even  from  the  novelty  of  the 
thing.  Missions  to  the  heathen  !  Since  Mayhew's 
time  the  churches  had  not  heard  of  such  a  thing. 
Neither,  in  the  Protestant  world,  had  the  idea  been 
acted  on,  by  system,  in  any  country,  till  a  recent 
date.  One  of  the  first  missionaries  sent  forth  by 
our  churches,  visited  Home,  and  laid  before  the 
people  the  objects  of  his  mission.  Some  knew  it 
was  an  "  orthodox  "  movement,  and  that  it  called 
for  their  money.  A  covetous  rich  man  declared  he 
would  give  nothing.  A  rich  church-member  left 
her  money  at  home,  for  she  "  would  not  encourage 
beggars."  The  plain,  faithful  preaching,  and  the 
picture  of  the  state  of  the  heathen  world  lying  in 
wickedness  affected  many  hearts  unused  to  such 
emotions.  The  covetous  man  gave  liberally,  and 
the  lady  borrowed,  that  she  might  do  so  likewise. 
It  was  the  first  time,  for  ages,  that  the  churches  at 
Home  had  been  called  on,  as  Christians,  to  act  out 
the  spirit  of  benevolence  to  the  guilty !  There  was 
not  much  piety  left.  The  appeal  was  novel ;  the 
topics  new ;  the  sympathies  awakened,  more  than 
the  conscience.  But  the  result  was  creditable  to 
their  liberality.  It  tended  to  establish  again  in  the 
minds  of  men,  the  idea  of  duty  towards  sinful  men. 
The  giver  is  doubly  blessed.  His  sympathies  will 


H  O  If  E  .  125 

follow  bis  gifts.  This  enlarges  his  affections,  and 
his  mind  also.  It  tends  to  prepare  his  mind  for  di- 
vine influences  for  his  own  salvation.  So  that  the 
maxim,  "  there  is  that  giveth,  and  yet  increaseth," 
is  based  on  a  law  of  our  nature.  It  is  part  of  our 
spirit — and  nature  too.  And  if  I  had  no  other  ob- 
ject in  training  my  children  to  liberal  habits,  I  would 
do  it  as  a  means  of  preparing  them  to  receive  and 
be  benefited  in  the  highest  degree  by  the  grace  of 
the  gospel.  And  I  have  remarked,  that  of  those 
who  were  most  deeply  interested,  on  that  occasion, 
quite  a  number  have  since  become  God's  children. 
It  is  not  that  divine  grace  is  bestowed  as  a  reward 
for  beneficent  acts  but  because  such  acts  break 
down  the  bulwarks  of  our  selfish  nature,  and  pre- 
pare the  soul,  pursuant  to  its  own  laws,  to  receive 
the  truth  in  the  love  of  it.  There  is  no  doubly  for- 
tified wall  of  'selfish  habits  to  oppose  the  claims  of 
a  gospel  whose  essence  is  self-denying  love,  or  be- 
nevolence in  heart  and  life.  "He  that  watereth 
shall  also  himself  be  watered,"  expresses  the  same 
law  of  our  nature.  So  has  God  written  on  man's 
nature  every  principle  of  his  law.  And  there  is 
not  an  element  in  our  nature  but  is  set  at  naught 
by  a  life  of  sin.  If  the  churches  can  be  induced  to 
give,  to  the  point  of  real  sacrifice,  a  manifest  increase 
of  holiness  and  blessing  will  therefore  follow,  by 
11* 


126 


the  same  law.  On  the  other  hand,  "  there  is  that 
withholdeth  more  than  is  meet ;  but  it  tendeth  to 
poverty."  It  makes  God  frown,  because  it  is  cher- 
ishing selfish  feelings.  Selfish  feelings  contract  and 
impair  the  vigor  of  the  mental  powers,  both  by 
their  direct  influence,  and  by  removing  the  highest 
motives  and  incitements  to  mental  action ;  and  also 
by  excluding  from  the  mind  the  most  ennobling 
thoughts  on  a  vast  variety  of  topics.  These  alone 
would  educate  and  invigorate  the  mind. 

An  eminent  living  statesman  is  accustomed  to 
prepare  himself  for  any  great  intellectual  effort  by 
the  reading  of  the  Psalms,  Prophets,  Epistles  and 
other  portions  of  the  Bible.  It  is  not  to  borrow 
thoughts ;  for  they  often  contain  nothing  germane  to 
his  intended  labor.  But  he  finds  it  gives  more  vig- 
or to  his  mind,  more  clearness  and  justness  to  his 
views  than  all  other  modes  of  training.  Often  have 
I  found  the  effect  of  prayer — by  which  the  intellect 
was  brought  under  the  same  class  of  spiritual  influ- 
ences that  flow  from  the  Bible — strengthen  the  me- 
mory, guide  the  wavering  judgment  aright,  and  add 
force,  dignity  and  beauty  to  efforts  from  which  I 
have  before  drawn  back,  as  tasks  beyond  the  reach 
of  my  powers.  So  Luther  reasoned,  in  his  maxim, 
"  To  have  prayed  well  is  to  have  studied  well." 

By  the  same  law,  right  action  aids  in   the  in- 


H  O  M  K  .  127 

vestigation  of  truth.  u  He  that  doetli  his  will,  shall 
know  of  the  doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God."  The 
marked  and  beneficent  spiritual  changes  in  sects  of 
errorists  that  have  warmly  enlisted  in  temperance, 
anti-slavery,  moral  reform,  and  other  labors  of  Chris- 
tian benevolence  is  noticed,  even  by  themselves. 
Their  bitterness  against  the  pure  faith  and  those 
who  love  it  ceases.  Acting  on  its  principles,  they 
gradually  assimilate  their  belief  to  it.  They  often 
think  the  change  is  in  others  ;  but  it  is  in  their  own 
hearts,  and  results  from  the  operation  of  the  law  of 
benevolence. 

"  Sell  all  that  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor." 
What  meant  the  precept,  and  its  promise,  "  and 
thou  shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven  ?"  The  same 
law  explains  it  It  did  not  promise  heaven  as  a  re- 
ward for  an  act  of  self-denial ;  but  such  acts  tend 
most  powerfully  to  secure  the  possession  of  right 
affections  towards  God  and  man.  It  is  by  the  same 
law  that  beneficent  action  in  states  and  communities 
prepares  men's  hearts  for  a  general  diffusion  of 
spiritual  blessings.  But  to  return. 

The  influence  of  several  pious  school-teachers, 
from  abroad,  was  a  great  blessing  in  Home.  Their 
prayers,  their  lives  taught  the  young  to  respect  piety. 
Their  intelligence  reunited,  in  older  minds,  the  asso- 
ciation between  piety  and  knowledge.  Those  who 


128  HOME. 

once  looked  on  spiritual  religion  as  a  weakness, 
could  no  longer  do  so.  Observation  showed,  too, 
that  the  intellectual  growth  of  the  young  mind  un- 
der such  teachers,  was  more  rapid,  was  more  health- 
ful. So  strongly  is  this  often  felt,  that  I  have  known 
infidels  take  great  pains  to  secure  pious  teachers  in 
schools  placed  tinder  their  control.  The  power  of 
the  gospel  is  hidden  from  their  own  hearts,  but 
they  see  its  beneficial  results,  and  desire  to  enjoy 
them. 

Who  does  not  admire  the  condescension  of  God 
to  human  weakness ;  his  pity  for  man's  folly  and 
guilt !  Men's  weaknesses,  errors  and  sins  are  often 
made  the  means  of  recalling  themselves  or  others  to 
the  path  of  life.  Such  instances  have  not  been  want- 
ing in  Home. 

A  young  and  lovely  woman,  from  the  very  hum- 
blest class  of  society,  extremely  ignorant,  though 
not  without  good  powers  of  mind,  was  early  mar- 
ried, and  removed  to  a  distant  State.  There,  under 
the  influence  of  a  revival  in  the  Methodist  body,  she 
became  the  subject  of  Divine  grace.  Widowed  and 
childless,  she  returned  to  her  native  town.  She 
brought  with  her  poverty,  so  far  as  this  world's 
goods  went,  but  a  rich  heart,  for  God  and  his  Son 
made  it  their  dwelling.  Who  could  doubt  it,  who 
saw  her  holy  living,  and  listened  to  her  converse- 


HOME.  129 

tion  ?  There  was  only  one  other  Christian  in  the 
neighborhood,  a  lady  in  much  higher  station ;  but 
they  became  almost  inseparable  friends.  The  great 
Lord  of  life  was  the  chiefest  among  ten  thousands 
to  each,  and  they  saw  him  in  each  other.  It  was  a 
dark  neighborhood ;  and  her  old  associates,  her 
near  neighbors,  all  with  whom  she  was  most  likely 
to  come  in  contact,  were  of  the  class  I  have  before 
spoken  of;  illiterate,  neglecters  of  the  Bible  and  of 
public  worship. 

Ardent  in  feeling,  she  convinced  them  all  of  her 
sincerity, — a  great  point  gained.  One  of  the  most 
useful  living  ministers,  one  who  lays  no  claim  to 
profound  scholarship  or  eminent  talents,  when  I 
asked  the  secret  of  his  usefulness,  especially  to  the 
educated,  a  class  for  whose  benefit  I  always  thought 
his  labors  poorly  adapted,  replied,  "  I  know  not, 
unless  it  is,  that  they  all  have  a  deep  conviction 
that  I  am  sincere"  or  hearty,  in  the  work.  It  is  not 
merely  to  be  in  earnest,  or  zealous,  or  eloquent ; 
but  to  make  men  feel  that  there  is  a  singleness  of 
purpose  that  looks  alone  to  the  good  of  their  souls. 
That  is  the  sincerity  my  excellent  and  honored 
friend  intended.  "  I  seek  not  yours,  but  you,"  was 
equally  the  lesson  of  the  widow's  life. 

Then,  she  was  not  very  refined ;  she  was  not 
above  them,  but  one  of  their  own  sort  of  folks.  They 


130 


could  talk  to  her  freely !  Nay,  they  could  out-argue 
her,  sometimes,  if  they  could  not  prove  that  her 
manifest  holiness  was  a  fancy ;  that  they  did  not 
try !  Then  the  widow  was  credulous,  in  some  mat- 
ters, to  an  extreme.  Endowed  with  a  fund  of  com- 
mon sense,  in  the  affairs  of  life,  she  yet  was  full  of 
dreams  and  visions  of  both  earthly  and  heavenly 
things. 

It  is  in  vain  to  reason  a  large  portion  of  even  ed- 
ucated persons  out  of  their  faith  in  dreams.  Call  it 
credulity,  or  what  you  will,  there  is  a  fascination 
about  these  visions  of  the  night  few  can  wholly  re- 
sist. So  it  is  with  "  signs,"  both  of  events  in  the 
natural  and  social  and  spiritual  worlds.  No  strength 
of  philosophical  intellect,  no  treasures  of  learning, 
no  sceptical  habits  of  mind,  no  want  of  natural  rev- 
erence, frees  the  mind  wholly  from  this  influence. 
And  many  will  think  that  the  mind,  shut  out  from 
the  fetters  of  sense,  has  glimpses  of  the  future,  and 
of  the  spirit  world  which  are  not  accorded  to  our 
waking  hours.  It  may  all  be  delusion,  but  it  is  one 
that  is  only  refined,  not  banished,  by  increasing 
knowledge.  Among  the  illiterate  such  ideas  are 
nearly  universal.  They  also  connect  them  with  re- 
ligion also.  And  the  representations  of  the  Scrip- 
ture that  such  things  have  been,  leads  them  to  attach 
a  value  to  our  dreams  far  beyond  their  intrinsic  in- 


HOME.  131 

terest  With  the  philosophy  of  dreams — with  all 
philosophies  of  dreaming ! — I  have  long  been  fa- 
miliar. They  have  little  real  philosophy  in  them ! 
Why  undertake  to  explain  the  action  of  mind  with- 
out a  body?  (For  this  is  clearly  essential  to  any 
full  exposition  of  it).  Idle  as  most  dreams  are,  their 
influence  over  the  life  is  sometimes  very  great. 
"  He  that  hath  a  dream,  let  him  tell  a  dream."  In 
my  childhood,  when  about  seven  years  old,  I  dream- 
ed I  was  dead,  and  in  hell !  It  seemed  not  unlike 
the  scenery  of  our  world.  Its  devil,  not  unlike  a 
smiling  man  !  He  offered  to  the  lost,  beautiful  and 
fragrant  fruits,  that  turned  to  bitter  ashes  in  the 
mouth  ;  and  still  he  smiled !  There  seemed  no  re- 
straint on  men's  motions,  or  intercourse.  Their  suf- 
ferings were  in  their  hearts.  Full  of  anguish  at  be- 
ing shut  up  with  the  wicked,  I  approached  the  low 
wall  that  seemed  to  divide  the  place  from  heaven ! 
Child  as  I  was,  I  could  see  over  it ;  but  had  no  pow- 
er to  climb  it.  It  seemed  as  if  the  help  must  come 
from  the  heavenly  side.  I  looked  around  for  it. 
Presently,  the  forms  of  my  venerable  grand-parents 
seemed  to  pass  by,  mingled  with  throngs  of  happy 
faces.  I  called  for  help.  They  only  looked  at  me 
mournfully,  and  passed  on.  I  could  not  blame  or 
envy  them.  "  It  is  right,  it  isjiist"  was  the  feeling 
irresistibly  impressed  on  my  mind.  For  the  first 


132 


time  in  my  life,  I  knelt,  and  tried  to  pray,  not  to  be 
saved  from  hell ;  for  it  never  had,  in  all  my  life,  any 
terror  to  my  mind ;  but  to  be  reserved  from  such  a 
just  punishment.  The  habit  of  secret  prayer  then 
formed,  was  never  wholly  lost,  through  long  years 
of  youthful  folly  and  sin,  till  I  united  with  Yale 
College  Church,  in  1831.  I  attach  no  value  to 
dreams.  For  years,  when  in  health,  I  have  had 
none.  I  listen  impatiently  to  the  recital  of  them. 
Still  the  most  permanent  influence  that  has  acted 
on  my  life,  perhaps,  was  this  dream  of  early  child- 
hood! 

I  wonder  not  at  their  power  over  minds  natural- 
ly credulous,  and  also  devout.  No  doubt  the  wid- 
ow's visions  and  semi-prophecies,  which  always 
boded  blessings,  tended  very  greatly  to  secure  to 
her  faith  its  proper  influence  over  a  large  class  of 
minds.  To  them,  it  was  the  poetry  and  romance 
of  religion.  They  who  are  insensible  to  such  in- 
fluences, and  laugh  at  them  when  they  appear  in 
the  grosser  forms  of  dreams  and  trances,  should 
never  read  Paradise  Lost,  or  the  Faery  Queen  ! 
The  widow  had  strong  faith  in  the  power  of  pray- 
er. She  was  sure  that  God  would  answer  her.  Nay, 
in  a  vision  He  had  shown  her  that  He  was  soon  to 
revive  his  work  of  grace  in  Home.  Had  she  not 
seen  in  a  dream,  a  great  light  flaming  up,  in  the 


HOME.  133 

direction  of  the  dwelling  of  a  rich  family  ;  and  then 
little  lights  also,  at  intervals,  all  over  the  town  ? 
People  smiled  at  her  "  silly  fancies,"  but  they  had 
a  good  influence,  still !  And  her  tender  appeals  to 
the  heart  were,  in  connection  with  her  holy  living, 
the  means  of  leading  several,  in  her  own  class,  to 
love  the  Saviour.  What  a  feast  it  was,  when  Jive 
women,  in  that  one  neighborhood,  could  meet  and 
talk  and  sing  and  pray  to  the  Saviour  they  loved ! 
There  was  not  such  another  place  in  all  the  town. 
Some  set  it  all  down  as  the  dreams  of  silly  women : 
but  others  sighed  and  wished  they  could  share  the 
same  joys  and  hopes,  if  it  was  only  in  their  dreams ! 

In  another  circle,  equally  ignorant,  perhaps  more 
so,  in  a  distant  corner  of  the  town,  a  like  influence 
was  exerted  by  a  poor  despised  man,  who  had  been 
brought  to  Christ  by  the  preaching  of  a  Baptist 
pastor,  in  a  distant  place  where  he  sought  work. 
His  prayers,  and  those  of  a  few  others  gathered 
around  him,  resulted  in  the  end,  in  the  formation 
of  a  Baptist  church. 

There  is  far  too  little  sympathy  between  the  ed- 
ucated and  the  ignorant.  When  men  learn  that 
God  endows  them  with  knowledge  only  that  they 
may  do  more  to  benefit  their  fellows,  they  will  not 
be  "  puffed  up"  nor  disgust  their  less  favored  breth- 
ren by  their  pride  in  their  superior  intelligence. 
12 


134  HOME. 

Education  and  learning  have  little  moral  value  if 
they  do  not  teach  us  to  be  "  clothed  with  humility," 
to  be  meek,  gentle,  patient,  especially  with  the  poor 
and  obscure,  the  ignorant  and  the  weak.  The  pas- 
tor's of  Home  were  ever  men  of  learning ;  but  they 
had  alienated  the  poor  and  the  ignorant  from  God's 
house  by  their  neglect,  by  their  pride,  by  the.ir  want 
of  sympathy.  The  poor,  no  longer  had  the  gospel 
preached  to  them,  to  any  great  extent.  The  deep 
rooted  prejudices  such  classes  entertain  against  ed- 
ucated ministers,  who  does  not  know  ?  The  man 
of  learning  can  overcome  them,  if  be  will.  His 
knowledge  was  given  him,  in  trust,  for  their  good. 
They  know  their  claims  upon  it.  But  they  have  as 
much  pride  as  the  man  of  learning,  and  do  not  like 
to  see  the  airs  of  the  teacher  put  on !  They  want 
its  results,  and  will  joyfully  receive  them  from  one 
whose  meekness  arrogates  no  superiority,  and 
whose  justice  and  true  benevolence  sees  in  every 
man  a  brother,  and  a  child  of  the  same  Father. 
In  this  should  the  man  of  education  learn  to  be 
a  child  ;  while  in  understanding  he  is  a  man. 

Too  many  of  those  who  preach  a  purer  faith, 
practically  despise  the  poor.  They  are  donnish ; 
they  love  and  seek  educated  society.  They  forget, 
insensibly,  the  claims  of  the  ignorant  and  the  poor. 
The  Literary  Soiree  is  a  source  of  high  enjoyment ; 


HUME.  135 

and  for  this  they  forego  the  far  richer  pleasure  of 
imparting  their  stores  to  those  who  lack.  This  is 
the  true  source  of  the  prejudices  of  masses  of  men 
against  education  in  the  pastor  and  in  other  profes- 
sional men.  And,  in  reference  to  these  prejudices, 
I  have  often  thought,  that  the  popular  lectures  on 
the  sciences  by  our  literary  men  were,  in  fact,  a 
most  effective  preaching  of  the  gospel ! 

It  is  no  reproach,  now,  to  the  ministry  of  the 
Baptist  and  Methodist  bodies,  to  say,  that  a  large 
portion  of  their  predecessors  were  extremely  illit- 
erate, and  themselves  in  many  cases,  filled  with  pre- 
judices against  learning  in  the  ministry.  But  that 
very  circumstance,  combined  with  their  encourage- 
ment of  "  visions,"  "  trances,"  "  dreams,"  and  like  ex- 
cesses, with  their  warm  piety  and  love  of  souls, 
won  them  popular  favor  with  the  neglected  and  ig- 
norant classes.  When  one,  now  among  the  most 
eloquent  men  of  our  time,  began  his  career,  in  a 
back  school-house  in  Home,  it  is  said  he  could  not 
read.  But  one  could  hear  him  preach  for  a  mile  ! 
He  "  cried  aloud,"  indeed,  and  "  spared  not"  his 
lungs  or  men's  ears !  He  was  visionary,  though 
pious ;  ignorant,  though  sincere  ;  "  God  gave  him 
all,  he  said,  for  no  man  had  ever  lar'nt  him,"  or 
"  torched  him !"  It  was  very  true,  so  far  as  the  af- 
fections of  his  heart,  and  his  yearning,  longing  de- 


136  HOME. 

sire  to  save  souls  were  concerned.  He  knew  little, 
but  he  felt  much.  He  spoke,  like  a  thunder  clap, 
when  a  gentle  whisper  was  enough;  but  the  words 
he  uttered  in  loudest  tones  were,  "  sin,"  "  death," 
"judgment,"  "  Christ  and  the  cross."  His  own 
feelings  suited  well  the  prejudices  of  his  hearers. 
They  knew  as  much  or  more  than  he,  of  every 
thing  save  "  the  love  of  God  shed  abroad  in  their 
hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  And  God  helped  him 
to  teach  some  of  them  that  divine  lesson.  Known, 
now,  all  over  our  own,  and  in  other  lands,  praised 
in  the  Senate  house,  for  his  usefulness,  he  can  still 
throw  the  arm  of  a  brother  round  the  neck  of  a 
diseased  and  guilty  sailor,  and  ask  his  brother  to  go 
with  him  to  the  Saviour  for  healing  and  pardon, 
with  the  same  simple  zeal  he  showed  in  Home, 
long  years  ago.  Neither  his  voice  nor  his  words 
are  forgotten  there. 

The  pastors  of  Home,  while  they  gave  men  no 
ideas  of  the  real  nature  of  the  faith  of  our  fathers, 
succeeded  in  filling  them  with  prejudices  against  the 
words  employed  to  express  some  of  the  offensive 
doctrines  of  the  cross ;  doctrines  essential  to  a  ma- 
tured and  intelligent  piety,  though  not,  with  most 
minds,  to  its  existence,  or  its  joys.  I  speak  of  the 
great  principles  of  the  divine  government  over  men, 
including  all  that  is  embraced  in  the  idea  of  God's 


137 


sovereign  dominion.  The  humble,  cordial,  entire, 
unlimited  submission  of  all  our  hopes,  fears,  joys 
and  wishes  to  the  Divine  Will,  must  be  in  some 
form  secured.  It  is,  though  by  a  great  diversity  of 
means.  The  Methodist  body,  in  proportion  to  the 
intelligence  and  real  holiness  of  its  members  see  it, 
though  they  are  opposed  to  some  of  those  Scriptu- 
ral doctrines  that,  in  the  higher  class  of  reasoning 
minds,  are  connected  with  such  submission,  as 
cause  with  effect.  But  their  very  hostility  to  these 
views  gave  them  favor  with  many  men,  to  whom, 
after  conciliating  their  prejudices  on  these  and  other 
points,  they  preached  the  glory  of  the  atoning  Sa- 
viour, as  a  deliverer  from  sin.  I  have  no  doubt 
they  have  won  many  thousands  to  Christ,  thus. 
And  when  the  Holy  Spirit  does  this  blessed  work, 
in  filling  the  heart  with  the  love  of  God,  the  same 
elements  of  faith,  submission,  humility,  meekness, 
zeal,  brotheily  kindness  and  charity,  will,  in  the 
end,  always  appear,  however  diverse  and  imperfect 
the  teachings  may  be  to  the  intellect.  And  truly 
spiritual  men  differ  far  less  than  they  sometimes 
think,  in  respect  to  all  the  doctrines  that  enter  into 
the  elements  of  a  Christian  life.  There  are  some 
men,  many  minds,  by  their  very  constitution,  limited 
to  the  "  first  principles"  of  the  faith.  For  others, 
in  order  to  attain  perfection  and  ripeness  of  char- 
12* 


138  HOME. 

acter,  other  doctrines  are  needed.  And  the  Bible 
has  its  "  heights  and  depths"  for  some,  as  well  as 
its  glorious  but  simple  truths  for  others.  But  it  has 
often  delighted  me  to  see  how  truths  intellectually 
rejected,  entered  in  fact,  deeply  into  the  Christian 
experience  of  those  who  denied  them.  The  logi- 
cal statement  of  the  idea  was  rejected,  but  the 
grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  had  given  power  to  the 
principle,  in  the  heart.  It  early  taught  me  a  lesson 
respecting  controversy  with  real  Christians.  We 
can  agree,  and  make  prayers  towards  unity  in  the 
faith,  just  so  long  as  tee  reason  to,  and  from  the  heart, 
and  that  heart  is  enriched  with  the  teachings  of  the 
blessed  Spirit.  Reverse  the  process,  and  every 
step  commonly  widens  our  differences,  and  produ- 
ces bitter  feelings  among  those  who  should  love  as 
brethren.  Every  sect,  as  holiness  increases,  learn 
to  place  a  higher  value  on  an  educated  ministry. 
But  if,  when  they  have  obtained  it,  they  pervert  the 
blessing,  become  "puffed  up,"  and  neglect  to  min- 
ister to  the  ignorant,  the  weak,  the  poor,  and  suffer 
them  to  be  alienated  from  their  hearts,  God  will 
raise  up  other  sects,  who  will  be  fitted  to  meet  even 
the  prejudices  of  the  ignorant,  and  who  have  hu- 
mility enough  to  "  condescend  to  men  of  low  es- 
tate." The  new  sect  may  differ  from  the  old,  in 
some  even  important  doctrine  of  the  Bible.  But 


HOME.  139 

go  long  as  they  hold  fast  the  cross  of  Christ,  God 
will  use  their  labors  to  raise  up  many  sons  and 
daughters  for  glory,  who  otherwise  might  have  per- 
ished in  sin.  He  "  will  have  all  men  come  unto 
him."  And  when  one  sect  neglect  any  part  of  His 
vineyard,  He  shows  the  pity  and  tenderness  of  His 
Divine  heart  by  sending  others  who  shall  teach 
those  who  err,  and  guide  them  to  the  Lamb. 

I  said  that  for  a  generation,  the  young  and  en- 
terprising were  drawn  away  from  Home  to  other 
places. — God,  the  God  of  our  fathers  ordered  this, 
in  mercy  to  the  posterity  of  his  covenant  keeping 
children.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  of  all  the 
scores  who  thus  left  their  native  soil,  God,  in  a  few 
years,  brought  nearly  all  back  to  the  faith  of  their 
fathers,  both  in  intellect  and  in  heart.  True,  in 
some  instances,  this  was  easily  traced  to  the  power 
of  a  spiritual  religion  in  the  places  of  their  new 
abode.  But  in  the  most  cases,  it  was  not  so.  In 
one  town,  where  the  darkness  was  dense  as  that  of 
Home,  in  its  darkest  hours,  God  raised  up  a  church, 
eminently  spiritual  and  intelligent,  planted  on  the 
faith  of  the  fathers,  and  composed  almost  entirely 
of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Home.  In  many  and 
distant  States,  often  under  the  worst  influences,  the 
Spirit  sought  them  out,  and  led  their  feet  to  the 
Rock,  and  that  Rock  was  the  Christ  their  fathers 
loved.  He  is  one  that  "  keepeth  his  covenant." 


140  HOME. 

One  was  a  preacher  of  error,  surrounded  by  a 
rich  church  who  loved  him ;  far  away  from  Home. 
But  he  was  near  to  the  heart  of  our  fathers'  God. 
And,  in  the  pride  of  his  intellect,  and  strength  of  his 
love  for  error,  his  heart  was  bowed  before  the  cross 
of  the  Saviour,  whose  power  and  glory  he  denied. 
Another,  eager  for  gain,  in  the  marts  of  a  crowded 
city,  was  taught  to  get  gain  richer  than  the  most 
fine  gold.  Another,  where  "  storm  was  upon  the 
midnight  waters"  far  from  the  land  and  from  the 
influences  of  the  gospel,  was  led  by  His  hand  who 
guides  the  storm,  to  rest  on  the  same  Saviour.  Did 
they  cease  to  love  their  birth-place,  when  Divine 
love  filled  their  hearts  ?  Their  letters,  their  visits, 
their  prayers,  will  answer.  They  warned,  they 
reasoned,  they  prayed,  and  with  tears  often  be- 
sought the  old  friends  of  their  youth  to  be  recon- 
ciled to  God.  And  it  was  not  in  vain.  Though 
the  prophet  is  less  honored  in  his  own  country, 
sometimes,  yet  in  other  cases  he  finds  willing  hearts, 
that,  for  love's  sake  will  receive  his  message.  The 
more  instances  of  such  conversion  occurred,  and 
the  oftener  these  loved  ones  returned,  the  more  the 
gospel  became  associated,  in  men's  minds,  with  all 
the  tender,  human  affections  of  our  nature.  And 
this  is  always  a  great  point  gained.  The  power  of 
sympathy  can  then  act,  in  subduing  the  pride  of 


HOME.  141 

the  heart,  and  recalling  the  erring  intellect  to  the 
faith  of  the  fathers.  It  is  difficult  to  exert  a  direct 
influence  for  Christ  over  our  family  relations.  They 
know  our  faults  so  well,  and  we  are  so  conscious 
that  they  do,  that  we  are  reluctant  to  address 
them  with  the  fidelity  we  can  freely  use  with  stran- 
gers. But  if  we  truly  live  for  Christ,  and  our  sin- 
cere devotion  is  manifest,  not  all  our  known  foibles 
and  sins  will  prevent  the  voice  of  affection  from 
reaching  the  heart  True,  a  man's  foes  sometimes 
are  found  in  his  own  household.  Some  are  embit- 
tered against  the  gospel  in  proportion  as  they  be- 
come acquainted  with  its  nature.  Perhaps  the 
most  bitter  enemy  of  the  gospel  in  all  Home,  is  one 
of  those,  who  for  many  years  has  most  clearly  un- 
derstood its  principles ;  nay,  had  much  to  do,  in 
earlier  days,  with  its  revival.  The  love  of  sin  in 
the  heart  will  not  always  yield  to  the  voice  of  con- 
science or  an  enlightened  judgment  So  our  Lord 
teaches  when  he  tells  unbelievers,  "  Now  ye  have 
both  seen  and  hated  both  me  and  my  Father."  The 
very  preaching  of  its  truths  leads  some  sinners  to 
embrace  their  opposite  errors.  And  the  manifesta- 
tions of  the  power  of  grace  in  some  hearts,  are  ac- 
companied by  a  more  bitter  hostility  in  the  hearts 
of  those  who  refuse  to  have  Christ  reign  over  them. 
The  proud,  the  vain,  the  lover  of  pleasure,  the  man 
ambitious  of  worldly  honor,  as  well  as  the  openly 


J  42  HOME. 

vicious,  will  show  the  enmity  of  their  hearts  against 
the  Holy  one,  when  the  gospel  disturbs  their  self- 
complacency  ;  they  will  resist  its  claims  till  the  pow- 
er of  the  Spirit  softens  their  hearts,  convinces  them 
of  their  sinful  nature  and  life,  and  leads  them  to  re- 
joice in  Christ,  their  Saviour. 

How  flamed  the  enmity  to  the  gospel,  in  many 
hearts  in  Home,  when,  at  last,  the  truly  pious,  en- 
couraged by  their  increasing  numbers,  established 
Sabbath  worship,  and  employed  pastors,  once  more, 
like  in  faith  and  holiness,  to  those  whose  ministry 
our  fathers  loved !  "  The  town  would  be  impover- 
ished by  so  many  churches."  The  valuations  show 
a  large  increase  of  wealth !  "  These  people  will 
come  to  poverty,  by  paying  so  much  to  new  teach- 
ers and  churches,  and  other  new  objects."  The 
pious  have  rapidly  and  steadily  increased  in  wealth, 
in  almost  every  instance!  "They  mean  to  say  we 
are  not  Christians."  Ah,  there  spake  the  guilty 
conscience,  awakening  from  the  sleep  of  ages,  and 
seeing  Christ  afar  off!  The  gospel  was  no  longer 
to  be  veiled  from  men's  understandings,  though 
they  were  still  free  to  reject  the  reign  of  holy  love 
over  their  hearts.  Grace  has  a  "  constraining"  but 
no  compulsory  power  over  man.  God  worketh  in 
us,  both  to  will  and  to  do  his  pleasure,  but  never 
forces  one  heart  into  his  service.  The  Christian 
convert  says,  "  I  rejoice  to  do  thy  will,  O  God  !" 


HOME.  143 


CHAPTER   X. 

PHYSIC  FOR  A  GUILTY  CONSCIENCE. 

I.  The  wedding. 

IT  was  an  old  family  mansion,  built  when  timber 
was  plenty  and  boards  cheap !  The  very  garret  con- 
tained more  square  feet  than  a  modern  built  cottage 
ornee.  The  high  spacious  rooms,  painted  in  land- 
scape, furnished  with  heavy,  old,  rich  carved  furni- 
ture spoke  of  wealth  and  ancestral  taste.  The 
yellow  paint  was  something  faded ;  but  the  twin- 
ing honeysuckle  and  jasmine  added  a  far  richer 
ornament,  reaching  to  the  very  roof  tree,  and  half 
shading  the  windows.  The  very  offices  round  the 
dwelling  look  like  plenty.  The  barns — long  ranges 
of  building — are  filled  with  hay  and  grain  ;  and 
the  hired  man  is  just  driving  into  the  yard  a  herd 
of  cattle  and  sheep  that  a  Patriarch  might  not  de- 
spise for  numbers  or  beauty.  Between  the  barn 
and  corn-house  you  can  just  get  a  glimpse,  over 
the  hill  tops,  of  the  rich  hickory  woods  that  furnish 
that  noble  wood-pile,  with  its  two  years'  supply  of 
seasoned  wood  in  advance,  that  looks  provident  for 


144  HOME. 

human  comfort.  The  dwellers  here  need  fear  no 
fierce  wintry  storm !  Look,  where  the  sun  is  just 
setting  in  a  blaze  of  glory,  that  perfectly  dazzles 
you !  Shade  your  eyes,  and  get  a  view  of  that 
noble  orchard  of  every  variety  of  fruit,  and  the 
garden  and  shrubbery,  close  at  your  feet  No  want 
of  fruits  or  pulse  for  the  well  furnished  table,  or 
cider  richer  than  wine  for  the  cellar.  Just  now  the 
laborers  are  gathering  the  last  winter  apples.  Count 
up  the  barrels.  One,  two,  twenty,  eighty,  two 
hundred  barrels !  Why  there's  fruit  enough  for  all 
Home.  Doubtless  there  is  a  greater  variety  stored 
and  preserved.  For  you  may  see  round  the  gar- 
den rows  of  quince  trees,  plumbs,  apricots,  pears, 
currants,  raspberries,  and  every  other  delicious  thing 
our  cold  climate  will  nourish.  And  there  is  even  a 
green  house,  yonder,  half  hidden  under  the  hill- 
side, for  exotic  flowers  and  fruits,  and  to  supply 
early  vegetables  for  the  table. 

Then  in  front,  and  round  the  dwelling,  see  how 
rich  the  green  turf  is,  spotted  over  with  rose  bushes 
and  lilacs.  But  lift  up  your  eyes  a  little.  See  the 
successive  terraces,  faced  with  hewn  stone,  rough 
hewn,  for  ornament ;  and  loaded  with  every  flower 
that  will  bloom  in  autumn.  You  see  the  roots  of 
many  a  spring  and  summer  beauty  have  been 
carried  to  the  hot  house.  Here  is  taste  presiding 


over  wealth.  Raise  your  eyes  again,  and  follow 
my  hand !  Do  you  see  that  green  spot,  to  the  east, 
under  that  hill,  where  the  horses  are  drinking? 
There  is  the  spring.  Now  trace  the  little  stream 
down  hitherwards,  through  the  pasture,  by  the  line 
of  verdure.  It  crosses  the  road  in  a  broad  sheet  of 
clear,  sparkling  water.  There  is  a  load  of  guests, 
coming  to  the  bridal,  driving  over  the  rustic  bridge. 
Who  are  they,  I  wonder  ?  No  matter ;  the  rich 
and  happy  have  many  friends.  The  brook  passes 
so  close  to  the  terrace  wall  that  we  must  go  to  it, 
to  see  the  pickerel  and  trout  disporting  in  its  hollows. 
Mark  how  it  winds  away  to  the  south,  through  that 
broad  rich  meadow,  till  it  is  lost  in  the  woods, 
almost  a  mile  off.  Follow  the  high  road,  in  the 
same  direction,  and  count  the  houses,  of  every 
form,  size  and  fashion.  There  you  can  see  the 
oldest  house  in  town !  Just  over  it  you  see  the  high 
steeple  of  our  church.  Some  people  do  say,  that 
it  is  a  pity  the  vane  is  so  near  to  heaven,  and 
the  people's  hearts  so  far  off!  But  come!  I  see 
the  guests  are  going  into  the  parlor,  the  parson 
must  have  come  whije  we  have  been  gazing  on  the 
bride's  rich  farm  and  fine  prospects. 

There  stands  the  young  bride,  the  owner  of  the 
old  mansion,  and  its  rich  grounds.     She  is  clad  in 
simple  white.     Why  shpuld  she  be  ornamented? 
13 


146  HOME. 

Every  one  knows  she  is  rich.  She  is  rather  short — 
no  fault,  in  my  eye.  Her  form  is  round,  a  little  too 
full ;  but  never  mind  it.  Her  long  hair  curls  in  the 
neck.  There's  a  single  rose  bud,  half  blown,  stuck 
in  the  golden  clasp  of  her  girdle,  and  another  half 
hidden  in  that  ringlet  over  the  left  brow.  Her  blue 
eyes,  that  commonly  lack  expression,  are  surely 
beautiful  now !  She  is  speaking  to  his  sister ;  that 
accounts  for  it.  The  expression  is  mild  ;  but  the 
slight  move  of  the  lip  and  nostril  speak  of  decision. 
That  round  forehead,  and  head  drawn  back,  tell  of 
pride  as  well  as  power.  The  smile  is  too  stately 
for  me ;  but  I  am  not  the  lover ;  only  his  cousin, 
which  makes  all  the  odds  in  the  world.  See  that 
rich  library!  There  are  many  things  which  the 
elegant  literature  of  our  own  and  other  lands  and 
tongues  can  supply.  It  is  most  of  it  a  bridal  pre- 
sent. I  wish  there  was  more  of  religion,  less  of 
taste,  there.  There  is,  to  be  sure,  Blair,  beside  of 
Byron ;  Lathrop's  sermons,  stuck  between  two 
volumes  of  Rosseau's  Emilie ;  but  they  are  not 
much,  that  is,  not  so  very  much  better.  So,  it  is 
literature  without  religion.  How  old  is  the  bride  ? 
Just  twenty-four,  to-day. 

The  bridegroom  is  not  tall,  but  certainly  the 
most  elegant  man  in  the  room,  tho'  the  parson  does 
feel  so  proud  of  his  stately  form!  He  must  be 


HOME.  147 

a  In  M  1 1  twenty-six.  I  don't  quite  like  his  eye  ;  it  is 
too  sensual.  But  his  fine  features  are  manly.  They 
say  he  was  wild  in  college.  Nay,  that  he  was  car- 
ried to  his  room  intoxicated,  commencement  night 
But  he  has  studied  Jaw,  since,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
he  learned  the  laws  of  temperance.  His  old,  rich 
family,  honored  for  generations,  would  not  suffer 
him  to  marry  this  heiress  if  he  .was  not  correct  in 
his  habits.  I  don't  like  to  see  so  much  infidel  litera- 
ture in  that  book  case.  If  he  must  have  the  Hen- 
riade,  he  might  have  left  out  the  Dictionaire  Phi- 
losophique,  so  called,  because  there's  no  philosophy 
in  it!  But  how  happy  James  looks!  I  did  not 
think,  when  I  laughed  with  him,  last  spring,  about 
the  heiress,  that  they  would  be  united  so  soon,  if 
ever.  But  he  has  gained  his  first  cause,  and  I  do 
not  believe  he  will  care  to  plead  another ! 

The  solemn  words  of  blessing  were  uttered. 
There  was  stillness,  some  tears,  then  kisses,  con- 
gratulations, feasting,  the  sparkling  goblet,  mirth, 
wit  and  song,  till  the  guests  retired  to  their  homes. 

II.  The  funeral. 

Two  years  later  the  same  guests  were  again  as- 
sembled, clothed  in  the  garments  of  woe.    There 
was  a  crowd  in  and  around  the  dwelling,  filling 
every  room  and  the  whole  yard.    There  was  an 
41 


148  HOME. 

expression  of  pity  and  pain,  rather  than  sorrow,  on 
almost  every  face.  Look  back  a  little.  James  was 
by  birth,  education,  professional  attainments,  men- 
tal gifts  and  wealth,  justly  entitled  to  rank  with  the 
first  young  men  of  his  time.  The  pet  son,  he  had 
been  too  much  indulged.  The  collage  bills  were 
large ;  but  so  were  his  father's,  before  him.  There 
were  too  many  "  wines"  and  "  suppers,"  by  far,  for 
entire  sobriety;  but  he  graduated  with  honor. 
Young  men  would  be  wild,  a  little ;  so  his  father 
said,  and  the  whole  family  agreed.  His  profession 
was  only  to  give  him  some  gentlemanly  calling. 
There  was  no  lack  of  wealth.  Besides,  political 
eminence  was  what  he  aspired  to,  and  what  his 
friends  wished.  Now  married  into  an  old  and 
wealthy  family,  with  popular  talents,  pleasing  man- 
ners, education,  leisure,  and  many  friends,  what 
might  he  not  hope  for  ? 

The  friends  and  the  bride  knew  not  that  the 
habits  of  intemperance  were  already  formed ;  that 
the  eye  was  often  brilliant  with  the  excitement  of 
champaign,  and  the  song  inspired  by  incipient  de- 
lirium. We  little  thought  of  such  things,  then,  in 
the  days  of  darkness.  Fond  of  elegant  literature 
were  the  whole  family  circle.  The  bridal  months 
passed  away  brilliantly,  happily.  The  cloud  in  the 
distance  was  not  noted.  In  the  opening  spring,  he 


HOME.  149 

must  become  the  gentleman  farmer.  He  must 
work  with  his  laborers,  or  pretend  to,  and  drink 
with  them.  By  autumn  he  was  often  drunk  with 
them !  By  another  year,  his  only  associates  were 
low,  drunken  laborers,  intoxicated  in  the  field  before 
noon,  every  day.  The  farm  was  neglected,  money 
wasted,  friends  lost,  bad  passions  roused,  oaths 
common,  brutality  towards  all  but  his  wife,  frequent, 
and  hope  of  reform  gone !  Who  shall  tell  how  the 
young,  childless  woman  mourned  over  her  lost 
visions  of  bliss  ?  How  she  sought  refuge  from 
trouble  in  literary  pursuits,  in  music,  in  song,  in 
social  visits !  How  her  pale  cheek  and  passion- 
less eye  told  of  a  breaking  heart !  Had  one  word 
of  unkindness  ever  fallen  from  him,  it  would  have 
broken !  So  he  died,  as  the  fool  dieth,  and  we  all 
came  to  mourn  with  the  living,  and  to  bury  the 
loathsome  body  out  of  her  sight.  There  was  no 
consolation  for  her,  in  the  character  of  the  departed ; 
the  healing  power  of  the  gospel  she  knew  not. 
The  pastor,  in  his  prayer,  said  that  time  soothed  our 
sorrows,  and  the  offices  of  friendship.  So  why 
speak  of  the  gospel  ?  So  we  buried  him,  and  left 
the  young  widow  alone  to  weep. 

IH  The  brother's  letter. 

"  Dearest  G. — My  beloved  and  most  cherished  sis- 
13* 


150  HOME. 

ter,  my  heart  is  deeply  wounded  by  the  news  of 
your  affliction.  If  my  love,  my  tears,  my  very  life 
could  give  you  consolation,  you  know  they  should 
be  yours.  I  will  not,  I  must  not,  speak  of  him  you 
have  lost.  I  do  mourn  over  his  untimely  grave ; 
but,  my  sister,  I  mourn  far  more  for  you !  You 
have  no  comforter !  You  would  not  hear  me,  in 
the  hours  of  joy.  Your  heart  ached  with  the  ex- 
cess of  your  happiness,  present  and  in  near  pros- 
pect. You  said  you  admired  the  divine  beneficence, 
and  were  grateful  for  every  blessing ;  you  loved  the 
Giver!  Ah  sister,  your  love  and  gratitude  were 
only  the  refection  of  your  own  happiness.  Even-- 
thing smiled  on  you,  and  your  smiles  answered 
again.  You  were  offended  when  I  told  you  that 
your  heart  was  far  from  God,  and  was  lifted  up  with 
sinful  pride.  You  almost  denied  that  I  loved  you, 
or  appreciated  your  character.  Am  I  not  right,  sis- 
ter ?  Did  I  not  see  in  you  the  picture  of  my  own 
nature,  softened  as  woman's  form  is,  but  still  the 
same  ?  When  I  preached  the  wiles  of  error,  and 
believed  in  the  native  purity  of  my  proud  heart, 
was  I  not  just  so  deceived  myself?  I  thought  I 
loved  God ;  but  he  was  not  in  all  my  thoughts,  in 
the  real  holiness  of  his  character.  My  proud  heart 
was  not  subdued  to  his  sovereign  will.  May  I  read 
your  heart,  dearest  G.  ?  Has  affliction,  so  sharp, 


HOME.  151 

so  severe,  so  overwhelming,  prepared  you  to  see 
what  is  passing  within  ?  You  weep  all  day,  and  re- 
fuse to  be  comforted.  The  words  of  sympathy 
seem  to  be  mockery.  •  At  night  you  sleep  only  from 
exhaustion.  In  the  morning  you  ask,  '  Why  is  my 
lot  so  much  more  bitter  than  that  of  others  ?'  In 
the  evening  you  say,  '  I  surely  have  not  deserved 
it  What  sin  have  I  committed,  that  God  should 
be  so  severe  ?  Is  this  his  goodness  that  smiled  so 
serenely  upon  me  ?  I  expected  sorrow  and  death 
at  some  time ;  but  not  to  have  the  hopes  of  my 
youth  so  blasted.  How  have  I  deserved,  not  suffer- 
ing only,  but  this  shame  ?'  Do  I  read  you  right, 
G.  ?  Is  not  this  the  voice  of  your  heart  ?  And,  in 
in  the  stillness  of  the  night,  does  no  voice  add, 
'  your  heart  is  not  right  in  the  sight  of  the  Holy 
One  ?'  Three  months  have  now  passed  away, 
since  that  sad  day ;  and  you  write  me  you  have  no 
comforter  still.  Suffer  one  who  loves  you  with 
both  a  brother's  and  a  father's  tenderness,  to  probe 
your  heart,  before  I  point  you  to  that  only  Comforter 
I  know.  You  find  your  loved  music  has  lost  its 
soothing  power ;  he  used  to  sing  with  you.  Did  you 
ever  '  make  melody  in  your  heart,  unto  the  Lord  ?' 
Did  you  ever  sing  to  His  praise,  with  devout  affec- 
tions ? 
You  loved  literature.  But  what  was  it  ?  Did  it 


HOME. 

tell  aught  of  God,  his  holy  law,  the  evil  of  siu,  the 
coming  judgment,  the  cross  of  a  Redeemer's  mercy 
and  agony,  the  life  beyond  the  dark  valley  ?  Was 
not  every  book  of  this  nature  omitted  or  unread  ? 
You  read  the  Bible  at  times,  I  know.  But  did  you 
make  it  the  guide  of  your  life  ?  Did  you  ever  try 
to  regulate  your  affections  and  your  thoughts  by  its 
holy  precepts  ?  Did  you  ever  seriously  try  to  please 
God,  for  one  entire  week,  or  even  day  of  your  life  ? 
I  know  you  united  with  the  church,  on  your  mar- 
riage. But  did  you  really  feel  that  you  were  conse- 
crating your  heart  to  Christ?  That  you  were, 
thenceforth,  to  '  walk  in  newness  of  life  ?'  I  know 
you  have  sometimes  prayed  ;  but  did  you  ever  real- 
ly delight  in  the  presence  of  the  Holy  God  ?  Or 
was  it  an  irksome  thought  that  he  read  your  heart, 
and  knew  your  very  thoughts  before  they  were  your 
own  ?  You  say  you  find  no  pleasure  in  your  former 
literary  pursuits,  because  they  so  constantly  remind 
you  of  past  joys  and  present  sufferings.  But  if  you 
really  regarded  your  Maker  as  having  a  right  to  dis- 
pose of  you,  would  you  so  murmur  ?  Is  he  not 
holy  ?  Is  he  not  perfect  in  wisdom  ?  Is  he  not  al- 
ways just  ?  (I  ask  your  conscience  and  your  under- 
standing; do  not  let  your  heart  answer  for  them). 
Does  he  ever  willingly  afflict  or  grieve  the  children 
of  men  ?  Must  there  not  be  in  your  own  character, 


HOME.  153 

ample  reasons  to  justify  all  these  judgments  of  his 
hand?  I  know  the  innocent,  the  righteous  some- 
times suffer.  I  know  you  are  free  from  outward 
stain,  and  grosser  passions.  But  are  you  holy  ? 

Three  years  ago,  you  made  choice  of  your  com- 
panion. Which  was  dearest  to  your  heart,  he,  or 
your  God  ?  Did  you  not  feel  that  you  were  strong, 
your  life  of  joy  secure  beyond  doubt  or  change  ? 
Was  not  your  heart  lifted  up  with  pride  ?  Was 
you  humble  in  the  day  of  your  prosperity  ?  Ah,  do 
I  not  know  my  sister's  heart  from  my  own  ?  Have 
we  not  had,  from  infancy,  the  same  joys,  sorrows, 
books,  favorite  topics  of  thought,  views  of  men,  of 
society,  and  of '  our  place1  in  it  ?  Did  you  not  think 
it  a  strange  thing,  five  years  ago,  to  have  your  proud 
brother  commend  humility,  meekness,  and  forgive- 
ness of  injuries?  Did  not  my  sister  ask  me,  'if  I 
would  be  coward  enough  to  submit  to  insult?' 
Did  you  not  say  that  such  a  religion  you  could  not 
respect  ?  Was  not  that  the  heart  of  pride  ?  '  God 
resisteth  the  proud ;  he  knoweth  their  thoughts  afar 
off;  but  he  giveth  grace  to  the  humble.' 

You  say  you  shrink  even  from  the  society  of  dear 
friends.  Is  not  this  the  fruit  of  your  mortified 
pride  ?  Dearest  sister,  I  weep  over  your  sorrows. 
But  I  cannot  alleviate  them  by  suggesting  any  ali- 
ment for  a  sinful  heart  I  see  in  all  your  excessive 


154  HOME. 

sorrow,  only  the  fruits  of  a  proud,  selfish,  passion- 
ate, unrenewed  heart,  just  such  as  mine  was  when 
we  wept  together  by  our  dying  mother's  bedside. 
Have  you  forgotten  my  passionate  grief?  Did  I 
not  murmur  against  the  Holy  One  ?  I  love  all  that 
circle  of  friends  around  you.  There  is  not  one  of 
them  but  I  connect  some  early  joy  with  their  forms 
and  voices.  But  does  one  of  them  all  speak  to  you 
of  the  sinful  heart,  and  the  atoning  Saviour? 
They  speak  of  divine  goodness  in  sparing  you  yet 
many  blessings.  But  is  there  one  of  them  all  that 
tells  you  of  the  goodness  of  God  in  afflicting  you  ? 
No,  they  do  not  understand  that.  Their  hearts 
have  learned  submission  as  little  as  we  had  learned 
it,  when  mother  died.  Now  sister,  I  beseech  you, 
turn  not  away  from  the  view  of  your  own  sinful 
heart.  Let  your  mind  dwell  on  it,  till  by  God's 
Spirit,  you  discover,  as  I  did,  in  my  own  bosom,  its 
dark,  deadly  depravity.  Humble  yourself  before 
God,  and  confess  your  guilt,  your  pride,  your  sinful 
life  of  worldly  pleasure,  your  forgetfulness  of  the 
claims  of  his  holy  character  to  your  love ;  of  his  law, 
to  your  heart's  obedience ;  of  your  fellow-men,  to 
your  wealth,  your  prayers,  your  toils  for  their  good. 
Did  you  ever  think  of  loving  the  souls  of  others  ? 
When  you  taught  poor  Lily  to  read  the  Bible,  was 
her  salvation  from  sin  and  death  your  motive  ? 


HOME.  155 

Did  you  pray  that  her  heart  might  be  holy  ?  You 
pitied  one  so  ignorant ;  but  did  you  weep  over  her  sin- 
fulness?  Satisfied  that  she  reformed  her  outward 
life,  did  you  seek  to  purify  her  heart?  I  speak  of  her 
as  a  test  of  the  state  of  your  heart,  because  she  was 
so  entirely  under  your  control.  You  won  praise, 
and  deserved  it,  for  the  decision  that  rescued  her 
from  a  life  of  shame,  and  restored  her  to  society. 
But  was  it  compassion  for  the  woman,  or  a  desire  to 
save  the  sinner  ?  Did  you  ever  think  of  praying 
with  her  ?  Did  you  speak  to  her  of  Christ,  the  dy- 
ing Saviour,  who  would  take  away  her  sins  ?  or  was 
it  only  of  virtue,  honor,  restored  happiness  and  re- 
spect ?  You  did  well ;  but  did  you  act  as  a  Chris- 
tian ? 

Have  I  read  your  heart,  my  sister  ?  Oh  then  let 
me  point  you  to  my  Comforter?  Look  up  to  the 
cross  !  He  died  to  save  you.  He  has  all  the  affec- 
tions of  a  loving,  human  heart.  He  wept  over  the 
grave  of  his  friend.  He  wept  with  the  sisterssof 
Bethany.  His  warmest  sympathies  are  ever  with 
the  sorrowing.  And  then,  he  has  poiotr  ;  power  to 
take  away  the  very  source  of  all  sorrow ;  power  to 
say:  'daughter,  thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee.'  His 
hand  can  wipe  away  all  tears,  and  His  Holy  Spirit 
fill  your  bosom,  in  an  hour,  with  peace,  comfort, 
joy.  He  can  reveal  to  you  his  own  holy,  pure,  self- 


156  HOME. 

denying  character,  as  the  one  worthy  object  of  your 
entire  love  and  worship ;  and  fill  your  soul  with 
such  peace  as  all  the  world  cannot  impart  or  take 
from  you.  He  takes  away  the  remorse  for  sin,  the 
humiliating  sense  of  guilt,  the  shame  of  sin.  He 
teaches  us  to  abhor  our  sinful  pride,  to  be  clothed 
with  humility,  to  rejoice  in  affliction,  to  strive  to 
console  ourselves,  not  by  solitude  and  tears,  but  by 
doing  good  to  others.  You  say  your  poor  neighbor 
is  dead.  Have  you  been  there,  two  mourners,  to 
weep  together  ?  I  think  I  see  your  heart.  It  says : 
'  she  is  not  a  proper  associate  for  me.'  I  grant  it ; 
but  the  refined,  the  educated,  the  gifted,  may  weep 
with  the  humblest  and  most  debased  of  the  poor. 
Did  not  your  very  station,  and  your  common  sor- 
row render  it  fitting  that  you  should  forget,  for  the 
time,  the  barriers  of  society,  and  carry  peace  to  the 
guilty  family  if  you  could  ?  Ah,  sister,  the  blessed 
Comforter  was  wanting  to  your  own  heart !  The 
spirit  of  Christ,  the  image  of  Divine  benevolence 
was  not  in  your  own  bosom,  and  you  knew  not  how 
to  comfort  one  who,  like  you,  had  both  shame  and 
sorrow  at  once.  Oh  sister,  whom  I  have  so  long 
loved,  for  whom  1  have  prayed  and  wept,  even  in 
your  proudest  days  of  happiness,  let  fraternal  love 
warn  as  well  as  entreat  you  to  flee  at  once  to  the 
Saviour.  Cast  on  him  your  double  burden  of  sor- 


HOME.  157 

row  and  sin  ;  He  will  forgive  the  one,  and  soothe  the 
other,  as  no  power  of  earthly  sympathy  can,  as  no 
ministering  angel  may.  Lift  up  your  fallen  spirit  to 
the  revealed  Deity ;  the  God  clothed  in  the  likeness 
of  sinful  flesh,  for  the  very  purpose  of  removing  our 
sins  and  woes,  and  so  making  us  '  partakers  of  the 
Divine  nature.'  In  the  face  of  the  Man  of  sorrows, 
behold  the  compassion  of  a  God.  In  the  eye  of 
human  sympathy,  that  weeps  over  the  tomb  of  the 
loved  one,  see  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  of  all  power. 
In  the  voice  of  his  tender  love,  hear  the  words  of 
glory :  '  I  am  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life.  He 
that  believeth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall 
he  live !'  Is  not  here  a  balm  for  your  spirit  ?  Is 
not  here  a  power  to  give  you  consolation  and 
peace  ?  Is  there  not  here  One  worthy  of  love  ?  In 
living  to  Him  and  for  Him  who  died  for  us,  will 
you  not  find  comfort  ?  Is  he  not  wisdom,  strength, 
life,  peace,  all  the  soul  needs  ?  Come,  beloved  G., 
lay  aside  the  spirit  of  heaviness,,  and  take  from 
Christ  the  garments  of  praise.  Devote  your  life  to 
Him.  Your  literary  tastes,  your  musical  talents, 
your  social  influence,  your  wealth,  let  att  be  given 
to  the  task  of  winning  others  to  his  love.  Who,  in 
all  your  circle,  give  proof  that  the  love  of  God  is 
the  spring  of  their  actions?  In  whose  face  does 
Christ  appear,  in  the  glory  of  his  self-denying  love  ? 
14 


158  HOME. 

Oh,  wake  to  live  for  him !  My  dearest  sister,  I  have 
written  with  many  tears, — with  constant  prayer.  In 
the  day  of  prosperity  you  thought  me  harsh,  too 
strict,  wanting  in  the  mildness  of  the  Christian,  be- 
cause I  could  not  smile  on  a  life  of  pleasure.  Now, 
in  the  day  of  sorrows,  hear  my  voice  of  love,  and 
let  our  Saviour  bid  you  live.  Then  you  shall  re- 
joice that  you  have  been  afflicted ;  that  your  bright 
morning  found  so  bitter  a  night  so  near. 
With  sympathy  arid  love, 

Your  brother  W. 
March  12,  18—." 

u  Cruel,  cruel  brother !  Why  must  he  add  more 
bitterness  to  my  grief?  Does  he  not  know  I  differ 
from  him,  in  his  new  creed  ?  Arn  I  to  be  set  down 
as  one  utterly  lost  in  sin  ?  But  after  all" — and  here 
was  a  pause  of  serious  reflection,  followed  by  a 
flood  of  tears — "  after  all,  he  is  not  unkind.  And 
I  am  proud.  Oh,  he  has  been  reading  my  heart 
too  truly !  I  have  lived  to  myself,  and  not  for 
Christ.  There  is  something  more  than  a  creed  in  all 
this.  Let  me  read  it  again."  It  was  read  again,  and 
again.  Conscience  acknowledged  the  truth  of  the 
dark  picture,  so  faithfully,  yet  tenderly  drawn.  The 
sinful  heart  began  a  fierce  struggle.  Pride  coun- 
selled anger  at  the  reprover.  The  letter  was  torn 
in  two,  and  cast  indignantly  aside  ;  and  the  weep- 


HOME.  159 

ing,  passionate  widow  fled  to  her  chamber,  and 
wept  alone,  on  her  bed,  in  agony — there  was  no 
sleep  for  her  that  night. 

IV.  The  Physicians. 

A  week  later,  the  young  widow  was  tossing  on 
her  bed,  unable  to  rise.  She  was  sick,  so  they  all 
said,  around  her  ;  all  but  one,  the  humble  woman 
who  had  dreamed,  so  long  before,  of  the  great  light, 
just  in  the  direction  of  this  dwelling!  She  saw  the 
struggles  of  the  sin-sick  soul.  But  she  was  only 
the  nurse  for  the  body.  Never  left  alone,  regarded 
as  a  weak  enthusiast,  she  could  not  speak  to  the 
proud  and  sick  lady,  of  the  Saviour.  What  ailed 
her  ?  The  pastor  came,  once  and  again.  She  did 
not  weep  ;  yet  she  seemed  in  anguish  ?  "  Where 
is  your  pain  ?" 

"  Oh,  it  is  my  heart ;  I  have  crucified  my  Sa- 
viour !  I  have  rejected  Him  who  bought  me  with 
His  blood.  I  must  die  in  sin  !" 

"  But  you  wander,  you  are  not  such  a  guilty  being. 
How  have  you  sinned  so  much  ?  Surely  your  woes 
will  cancel  such  sins  as  your  pure  life  allowed." 

M  Oh,  my  heart  is  full  of  pride  and  selfishness.  I 
have  lived  without  God." 

"  Surely,  my  dear  G ,  you  are  wrong — calm 

yourself.  You  have  always  respected  religion,  you 


160  HOME. 

have  sincerely  admired  the  benevolence  and  good- 
ness of  God  in  all  his  works  and  ways.  You  have 
never  wilfully  broken  his  laws.  He  will  not  be  a 
severe  Judge." 

"  Oh  yes,  I  have  never  loved  his  holiness.  I  loved 
pleasure,  and  was  dead  while  I  lived.  God  was 
afar  off,  and  Christ  had  no  comeliness  to  my  soul. 
I  saw  no  need  of  a  dying  Saviour ;  and  now  his 
frown  is  upon  my  soul !  Oh  pray  that  my  sins 
may  be  forgiven,  or  I  must  perish." 

"  Surely  you  do  not  fear  that  you  are  to  be  cast 
into  an  eternal  hell,  for  any  sin  you  have  commit- 
ted!" 

"  Oh,  I  have  sinned.  My  sins  are  great.  How 
shall  I  wash  away  my  sins  ?  It  is  not  that  I  fear 
wrath,  but  because  I  deserve  it,  that  I  cry  for  relief. 
Oh,  what  shall  I  do  ?" 

It  was  a  new  case  for  the  pastor.  He  had  heard 
of  such  things,  among  the  benighted  "  orthodox," 
but  he  regarded  it  as  weakness,  or  worse.  In  vain, 
day  after  day  he  tried  to  calm  her  spirit.  It  would 
not  rest.  The  agitated  mind  prostrated  the  ,  vigor 
of  the  body.  The  pulses  quickened,  and  beat  with 
the  violence  of  a  fever.  The  clear,  powerful  intel- 
lect dwelt  always  on  the  great  evil  of  sin,  a  sinful 
heart,  in  which  the  love  of  pleasure  reigned,  where 
the  love  of  Christ  should  have  ruled  alone.  The 


HOME.  161 

pastor  knew  no  remedy  for  her  disease ;  he  was 
not  sure  but  it  was  insanity.  So  the  physician  was 
sent  for.  He,  two,  was  a  member,  and,  in  fact,  if 
not  by  formal  choice,  for  many  years  an  officer  of 
the  church.  He  had  heard  cries  for  mercy  by  the 
couch  of  the  dying  sinner.  But  here  was  a  new 
case  for  him.  Here  was  one  of  spotless  life,  amia- 
ble temper,  well  educated,  groaning  in  anguish  over 
the  sins  of  the  heart !  It  was  a  new  case.  Then 
he  felt  the  pulse,  and  the  brow  that  burned  like 
fire.  She  had  a  fever !  There  was  danger  of  in- 
flammation of  the  brain !  He  ordered  her  an  emet- 
ic, and  some  powders  every  two  hours !  They 
were  faithfully  given.  Poor  medicine  to  purge 
away  the  burden  of  sin  from  the  guilty  conscience  ! 

That  night  the  widow  remembered  the  torn  let- 
ter. "  Oh  run  Mrs.  M.,  and  bring  me  a  letter  you 
will  find  in  the  parlor.  Oh,  I  was  wicked  to  tear 
it."  It  was  brought, — read  again  with  tears.  Now, 
it  was  no  longer  cruel.  It  told  of  Christ,  just  such 
a  Saviour,  just  such  a  comforter,  just  such  a  Phy- 
sician as  her  soul  needed.  She  turned  to  the  pious 
nurse.  "  Is  there  any  hope  that  Christ  will  receive 
one  so  guilty  as  1  am  ?  Oh,  I  have  been  blind  to  all 
his  dying  love !" 

"  He  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was 
lost ;"  "  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners  to 
14* 


162  HOME. 

repentance."  "Though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet, 
they  shall  be  white  as  wool."  "  The  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  from  all  sin."  So  answered 
the  poor  widow,  in  the  words  of  holy  writ,  while 
the  rich  widow,  poor  in  her  riches,  bowed  with  all 
her  soul  to  the  majesty  of  the  simple  word  of  God. 
Now  the  glory  of  the  cross  was  revealed  to  her  ; 
and  she  cried  out,  "  Oh,  I  have  found  Him  ;  I  have 
found  my  Saviour  ;  help  me  to  praise  Him  !  Oh, 
what  a  glorious,  holy,  kind,  gracious  Lord  he  is !" 

Then  her  sweet  voice  burst  out  into  a  song  of 
praise,  in  the  words  so  often  sung  without  thought, 

"  Now  to  the  Lamb  that  once  was  slain, 
Be  endless  honors  given." 

Before  the  stanza  was  ended,  her  voice  chocked. 
But  it  was  with  rapture  !  She  "  made  melody  in 
her  heart  unto  the  Lord." 

The  morning  dawned  sweetly.  It  was  the  Sab- 
bath. The  fever  of  the  pulse  was  gone.  The 
calmness  of  holy  joy  was  in  the  soul,  and  the  clear 
intellect  saw  the  glory  of  the  Invisible  God  reveal- 
ed in  his  Son.  It  was  a  day  of  joy  and  praise. 
Such  a  Sabbath  had  not  been  known  in  that  old 
mansion  for  half  a  century.  The  very  air  seemed 
vocal  with  praise. 

The  news  soon  spread  far  and  wide.    The  pas- 


HOME.  163 

tor  came,  and  found  a  gentle,  joyous  spirit,  meek 
and  mild,  but  fervent  in  exhorting  him,  too,  to  seek 
that  Saviour  she  had  found.  The  physician  was 
pointed  to  a  remedy  for  sin  he  had  never  known. 
Friends  were  warned,  counselled,  entreated,  prayed 
for.  Some  doubted,  some  mocked,  some  listened. 
But  the  pious  rejoiced  and  thanked  God^that  the 
"  great  light"  shone !  The  poor  widow  said  the 
"  little  lights"  would  soon  appear !  And  they  did  ! 
I  cannot  follow  the  after  life  ;  the  praying  wife  and 
mother,  the  leader  of  the  social  circle  for  worship, 
the  teacher  of  the  Sabbath  school,  the  Bible  class  ; 
the  faithful  guide  to  youthful  relatives,  the  reprover 
of  sin  and  unbelief  in  the  matured.  Life  closed 
too  soon.  But  not  till  many  precious  fruits  followed 
that  strange  sickness,  and  the  remedies  of  the  phy- 
sicians! There  was  no  insanity  here;  nothing  to 
destroy  the  force  of  the  example.  Here  was  wealth, 
education,  literary  tastes,  fashion,  loveliness,  all  con- 
secrated to  Christ,  with  views  of  truth  so  clear, 
with  humility  so  marked,  with  experience  so  rich, 
that  none  who  were  willing  to  see  could  doubt  it 
was  the  work  of  God.  It  carried  the  gospel,  in  its 
living  power,  again,  into  the  centre  of  the  most  re- 
fined circle  of  Home  and  its  vicinage.  So  the 
widow's  God  became  her  friend.  Her  comforter 
was  her  Saviour.  And  henceforth,  in  the  eyes  of 


164  HOME. 

all,  she  lived  for  him.  There  were  errors,  foibles, 
weaknesses ;  but  "  the  life  of  faith  on  the  Son  of 
God,"  was  not  concealed  by  them.  The  brother  re- 
joiced. The  angels  rejoiced.  And  doth  not  the 
Lord  rejoice  over  the  "  lost,  found  ?"  He  "  taketh 
them  in  his  arms,  and  carrieth  them  in  his  bosom." 
He  has  "  loved  them  with  an  everlasting  love."  On 
his  throne  of  glory  his  heart  is  in  all  their  sorrow, 
and  rejoices  in  all  the  bliss  he  bestows  on  them,  in 
the  fulness  of  his  own  love.  And  when  they  lay 
aside  the  body  of  clay,  "  his  hand  shall  lead  them 
in  green  pastures,  and  by  the  still  waters  ;"  his  voice 
shall  teach  them  the  "new  song"  which  none  can 
sing  but  his  redeemed  ones.  There  "  his  servants 
shall  serve  him,"  in  holy,  useful,  blessed  activity, 
forever. 


HUME.  165 


CHAPTER  XI.1 

Old  tics  broken — THE  FAITHFUL  PASTOR — Old  George 
— The  Bible  Class — The  vicious  saved — Election  justi- 
fied ;  the  narrative — The  strayed  sheep  looked  up — 
The  aged  sinner  saved — The  poor-house — Sabbath 
schools — Laws  of  sanctification — Temperance — The 
last  argument ;  holy  living. 

HARD  was  the  struggle  when  the  disciples  at 
last  withdrew  from  the  places  where  our  fathers  had 
worshipped  so  long.  The  very  graves  around 
seemed  to  reproach  them !  On  that  seat,  the  now  gray 
headed  man  of  fourscore,  when  a  tiny  boy  had  seen 

1  As  the  details  of  the  preceding  chapter  are  simple  mat- 
ters of  history,  the  reader  may  be  interested  to  know  some 
additional  facts,  inadvertently  omitted  by  the  author,,  serv- 
ing to  connect  the  heroine  of  the  last  chapter  with  "  the 
faithful  pastor  "  of  the  following.  He  it  is,  who  was  sum- 
moned to  her  aid,  when  the  advice  of  her  accustomed 
spiritual  guide  and  the  prescriptions  of  her  physician  all 
proved  unavailing.  He  it  is,  who  with  the  "  poor  widow," 
stood  by  the  bed-side  of  that  agonized  woman  and  talked 
to  her  of  the  good  physician ;  Jold  her  of  that  bleeding  and 
atoning  Lamb,  and  urged  her  to  believe  and  live.  And 
when,  at  last,  her  "  lips  were  filled  with  rejoicing,"  his  voice 


166  HOME. 

his  silken  haired  great  grand-father,  as  he  worshipped 
"  leaning  on  the  top  of  his  staff."  Every  beam  of 
the  old  edifice  had  some  sacred  association.  There 
were  the  friends  of  his  childhood.  With  them  he 
must  part,  for  Christ's  sake.  The  wife  left  the  hus- 
band behind.  The  child  did  not  always  follow  the 
parent.  And  when,  for  the  last  time,  the  aged 
walked  slowly  away  from  that  house,  after  linger- 
ing in  its  aisles,  on  its  door-stone,  by  the  hill-side, 
many  a  sad  look  was  cast  back,  and  the  head  bow- 
ed down,  the  tear  trickled  over  faces  not  often  seen 
so  moistened  by  the  tears  of  sorrow.  But  Christ 
required  it.  The  faith  of  the  gospel  was  no  longer 
preached ;  the  Lord  had  given  them  numbers  and 
a  heart  to  maintain  his  worship  in  its  purity ;  and 
all  these  old  and  tender  associations  must  be  brok- 
en up. 

The  formation  of  churches  composed  of  living 
members  of  the  body  of  Christ,  was  soon  followed 
by  the  settlement  of  faithful  pastors.  Then,  in  suc- 

mingled  with  hers  in  ascriptions  of  praise.  It  was  their 
first  song  together,  but  not  their  last,  as  the  domestic  altar 
and  the  secret  chamber  of  the  wife  and  husband  will  at- 
test 

The  indulgent  reader  will  readily  pardon  the  author  for 
the  above  omission,  when  told  that  the  entire  manuscript 
of  this  book  was  written  in  the  eleven  days  which  intervened 
between  Mr.  Torrey's  conviction  and  sentence. — PUB. 


HOME.  167 

cession,  all  the  varied  means  of  growth  in  know- 
ledge and  grace  were  enjoyed,  and  the  work  of  re- 
novation was  more  rapidly  onward. 

True,  the  bitter  feelings  connected  with  the  sep- 
arations closed,  for  a  time,  some  minds  against  the 
truth.  It  spoke  so  loudly  to  men  of  the  fallen  state 
of  the  old  churches,  that  many,  whose  hearts  were 
ruled,  partly  by  pride,  and  partly  by  old  associa- 
tions, were  grieved  and  angry.  So  there  were  re- 
proaches, curses,  tears.  The  path  of  duty  is  not  al- 
ways a  pleasant  one.  Peace  does  not  always  follow 
the  steps  that  the  wisdom  of  the  just  may  indicate. 
Still,  us  time  run  on,  such  feelings  passed  away. 
Many  wished  to  hear  the  new  pastors.  If  their 
doctrines  were  not  always  understood,  or,  if  under- 
stood, not  loved,  still  there  was  no  doubt  about  their 
holy  living.  They  had  faults,  weaknesses,  foibles, 
like  other  men.  But  their  zeal,  humility,  faith  and 
love  for  the  soul  were  not  hid. 

The  idea  of  the  faithful  pastor  was  revived  once 
more.  One  was  a  man  of  polished  manners.  He 
was  a  ripe  scholar,  an  agreeable  companion.  His 
preaching  was  instructive,  his  doctrine  ever  main- 
tained by  reference  to  the  Bible  alone.  There  was 
a  directness  and  plainness  in  his  addresses  to  the 
conscience,  that  it  was  not  easy  to  avoid.  It  was 
his  rule,  that  no  man  should  ever  be  able  to  say, 


168  HOME. 

"  I  have  seen  the  pastor,  and  he  never  spoke  to  me 
of  the  soul  and  the  Saviour."  It  was  not  always 
wise ;  but  the  honest  fidelity  with  which  he  acted 
on  it,  commanded  respect.  "  The  man  must  be  in 
earnest,"  it  was  said.  It  was  a  new  thing,  too. 
Our  old  pastors  were  not  superior  to  him  in  talent, 
learning  or  refinement.  But  they  never  talked  so  to 
all  men,  and  to  the  very  children,  of  sin,  death,  and 
Christ  the  Lamb  of  God. 

There  was  a  despised  couple,  a  woman  of  feeble 
powers,  and  the  man  commonly  known  as  old 
George.  Perhaps,  in  past  days,  rum  had  done  its 
work  in  destroying  the  manhood  of  the  man.  Then 
they  were  poor ;  objects  of  charity,  just  kept  out  of 
the  alms-house.  Their  little  old  dwelling,  with  its 
one  room  and  a  garret,  was  the  meanest  hovel  in 
all  the  parish.  True,  it  was  very  neat.  The  worn 
out  floor  was  clean  and  nicely  sanded.  In  summer 
the  fire-place  was  always  filled  with  pine  boughs, 
and  wreaths  of  winter-green  and  wild  flowers  were 
thrown  over  the  little  looking-glass  and  mantle- 
piece.  The  mind  was  feeble,  but  the  love  of  God's 
beautiful  things  was  not  lost  They  could  not  say 
it,  but  they  saw  his  smiles  in  their  flowers  and  fo- 
liage. 

Among  the  very  first  to  frequent  the  new  place 
of  worship  was  this  humble  couple.  There  was 


HOME.  169 

many  a  patch,  not  always  of  uniform  color,  in  the 
old  garments.  But  they  were  decent.  Modestly, 
they  took  the  " lowest  seat"  But  they  were  not  de- 
spised, there,  as  the  worldly  church  despised  them. 
Nor  did  the  Holy  One  refuse  to  be  called  their  Fa- 
ther. So  "  this  poor  man  cried,  and  the  Lord  heard 
him,"  and  filled  his  bosom  and  that  of  his  rneek 
companion  with  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  love,  joy 
and  peace. 

The  pastor  rejoiced  to  see  how  "  God  chose  the 
weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  mighty.'' 
Their  little  hut  was  made  the  plane  of  stated  pray- 
er, and  evening  preaching.  Many  an  excellent  ser- 
mon was  preached  there.  People  said  it  was  not 
"  respectable,"  and  wondered  the  pastor  could  find 
no  better  place  ;  and  when  he  formed  a  Bible  Class 
there,  too,  and  made  it  so  interesting  that  the  chil- 
dren of  our  first  families  flocked  to  that  poor  house 
even  in  stormy  nights,  the  thing  became  even  more 
strange.  The  invitation  to  meet  in  more  "decent" 
places  was  given ;  but  the  pastor  saw  that  God  hon- 
ored the  poor  hut,  and  he  would  do  what  the  Lord 
had  done.  So  the  Bible  Class  generally  met  in  the 
little  room,  from  year  to  year.  How  full  of  humble, 
quiet  happiness  that  poor  man  and  his  wife  were, 
on  those  days  !  Had  God,  in  very  deed  so  honor- 
ed their  low  estate  ?  Did  the  rich,  the  proud,  the 
15 


170  HOME. 

wise  come  to  their  old  dwelling  to  learn  the  way  of 
life  ?  How  could  they  thank  God  enough,  for  such 
honor !  In  that  little  room  a  family  altar  was  built. 
There  was  none  in  the  houses  of  the  rich, 
for  a  mile  around.  In  that  little  garret  was  a 
place  for  constant  secret  prayer.  Did  the  rich  love 
to  pray  to  "  Our  Father  who  seeth  in  secret  ?"  So 
they  honored  God,  and  he  honored  them,  and  made 
their  little  hut  a  bethel.  Souls  were  born  there. 
And  now,  when  a  few  years  only  have  passed 
away,  every  regular  member  of  the  Bible  Class, 
save  one  or  two,  is  a  child  of  God  !  Some  have  al- 
ready entered  into  their  rest.  Some  live,  and  their 
light  shines. 

Three  of  the  group  are  pastor's  wives ;  one  is  a 
professor  in  a  theological  school,  two  more  are  pre- 
paring to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  lost.  When  the 
world  te  burned  up,  if  that  little  hovel  does 
not  sooner  decay,  many  will  wish  to  have  it  spared ! 
If  the  arts  of  design  are  cultivated  in  a  future  world, 
as  I  doubt  not  they  will  be — many  a  pencil  dipped 
in  light  will  depict  that  old  cottage,  and  its  humble 
inmates. 

As  religion  honored  the  weak,  so  it  began  to  re- 
form the  profligate.  In  two  instances,  men  of  the 
most  depraved  morals,  brutal  in  ignorance,  drunken, 
profane,  lewd,  "  to  every  good  work  reprobate," 


HOME.  171 

were  reclaimed,  and  became  striking  proofs  of  the 
power  of  grace.  Everybody  admitted  that  they 
" needed  to  be  born  again."  But  it  struck  some, 
very  forcibly,  that  no  such  results  had  followed  the 
popular  preaching,  for  a  long  time.  Morality  had 
been  promoted  by  it,  no  doubt.  But  the  conversion 
of  a  thoroughly  bad  man  into  one  noted  for  purity, 
meekness  and  self-denial,  was  a  new  thing  in  Home. 
It  seemed  to  some  that  Christ  had  indeed  come  to 
call  sinners  to  repentance.  In  one  instance  the 
effect  was  striking.  A  man  of  strong  mind,  well 
acquainted  with  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  had  long 
been  resisting  the  voice  of  love.  His  reasoning  in- 
tellect was  thoroughly  convinced  that  the  doctrine 
of  election  was  true;  a  part  of  God's  government, 
not  merely  revealed  in  the  Bible,  but  written  all 
over  the  history  of  man  and  angels.  And  he  did 
not  deny  the  right  of  the  wise,  holy,  and  just  God 
to  decide  the  destiny  of  all  his  creatures. 

But  the  heart  refused  to  submit  to  the  authority 
that  the  conscience  and  mind  admitted  to  be  right. 
The  struggle  was  severe.  One  night,  a  young  rela- 
tive, who  had  found  Christ  in  a  distant  city,  had 
been  speaking,  in  a  little  upper  room,  of  the  Saviour 
he  had  found.  The  sinful  heart  was  touched,  but 
the  old  struggle  revived  again. 

u  Why,"  said  the  sinner,  "  why  am  I  left  ?    I  have 


172 


often  felt  that  it  was  a  great  hardship  that  others 
were  taken  and  I  was  left.  There  are  this  and  that 
man — naming  the  converts — who  have  always  lived 
bad  lives,  profligate,  swearers,  despising  everything 
that  is  good.  Still  they  are  converted.  I  have  al- 
ways been  moral,  respected  religion,  and  tried  to 
do  right  towards  others  ;  but  there's  no  mercy,  no 
pardon  for  my  sinful  heart."  The  strong  man's 
frame  shook  with  the  anguish  of  his  mind. 

"  Perhaps,"  it  was  said,  "  these  guilty  men  will 
be  better  examples  than  you,  more  needed,  here,  to 
show  the  power  of  grace.  And,  then,  are  you  quite 
sure  that  a  mother's  prayers  and  holy  life  have  not 
kept  you  from  grosser  depravity  than  these  men  show- 
ed ?  Are  you  sure  your  heart  is  really  any  better  ? 
You  admit  that  you  are  a  sinner  ?"  "  Oh  yes,  I  feel 
that  ;  that  is  all  my  trouble.  I  may  he  as  guilty  as 
they,  in  heart ;  but  why  are  they  preferred  to  me  ?" 

"  I  am  not  God,  to  answer  to  his  motives.  But 
if  you  are  guilty,  is  he  under  any  obligation  to  have 
mercy  on  you  ?" 

"  No,  I  know  he  is  not  bound  to  save  me." 
"  Then,  look  at  your  heart.  Even  now,  it  rebels 
against  the  principles  of  his  government  that  you 
admit  to  be  founded  in  his  own  wisdom,  power  and 
justice.  With  such  a  heart,  is  it  not  just  and  right 
that  God  should  leave  you  to  perish  ?" 


H  b  M  E  .  173 

The  conscience  of  the  sinner  answered  "  yes." 
"Then,  if  you  do  perish,  the  justice  of  God  will  be 
known  in  it.  God  has  seen  your  sinful  heart,  been 
very  gracious  to  you,  long-suffering  has  marked  all 
his  dealings  with  you  ;  blessings  are  multiplied  to 
win  your  gratitude ;  Christ  is  as  freely  offered  to 
you,  as  to  any  other  man.  And  if,  after  all,  you 
are  a  "  vessel  of  wrath,"  will  not  God  be  justified, 
by  your  own  character,  in  the  eyes  of  all  men  ?" 

The  sinner  again  assented  in  silence.  "  Now,  it 
is  not  certain  that  you  are  to  be  lost.  You  are  yet 
alive  ;  you  see  your  guilt ;  conscience  is  not  dead- 
ened ;  the  Holy  Spirit  is  evidently  striving  with  you 
to  lead  you  to  Christ  And,  the  only  way  in  which 
you,  or  we  can  know  whether  you  are  elected  or 
not,  will  be  by  the  result  of  the  conflict  between 
your  heart  and  the  Holy  Spirit.  Is  it  not  so  ?  Then, 
suppose  you  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit  to  depart  from 
you.  Will  that  change  one  fact  in  the  Divine  Gov- 
ernment ?  It  may  settle  the  question  that  you  per- 
ish ;  but  your  admitted  sins  will  justify  God,  no 
matter  what  his  reasons  may  be  for  sparing  others 
as  guilty  as  you.  The  very  fact  of  your  election  is 
unknown  to  you  or  others.  And  it  is  in  vain  to  ask 
the  reasons  of  a  fact,  when  the  fact  itself  is  beyond 
our  knowledge." 

"But  what  shall  I  do,  then?" 
15* 


174  HOME. 

"  That  is  just  the  point.  Submit  to  the  govern- 
ment of  God.  It  must  be  founded  in  perfect  wis- 
dom, justice  and  goodness,  whether  you  see  all 
God's  motives  and  reasons  for  action,  or  not.  Let 
me  ask  you  ;  which  would  be  the  most  guilty  of  the 
two,  in  refusing  submission  ;  these  debased,  igno- 
rant men,  or  you,  with  your  clear  views  of  God's 
character  and  will  ?  Which  would  God  be  more 
honored  in  sparing,  in  view  of  the  degrees  of  light 
you  enjoy  ?  And  if  spared,  are  you  any  ways  sure 
that  your  whole  life,  here  and  hereafter,  will  be  as 
useful  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ  as  theirs  ?" 

He  admitted  there  might  be  very  good  reasons,  be- 
sides his  own  guilt,  why  others  should  be  saved  in  pre- 
ference to  him — and  this  is  the  doctrine  of  election, 
the  whole  of  it :  viz. — '"  That  there  are  reasons,  aside 
from  the  obligations  of  justice  to  the  moral  character  of 
the  subjects  of  Divine  government,  why  one  man  is 
made  a  subject  of  Divine  mercy,  and  another  is  not" 
Is  it  not  according  to  common  sense,  as  well  as  the 
Bible  ? 

"  Then  what  is  your  plain  duty  ?  Are  you  wiser 
than  God,  that  you  shall  undertake  to  judge  of  his 
decisions,  before  you  know  what  they  are,  or  on 
what  they  are  based  ?  Enough  for  you  to  know 
that  he  has  provided  for  your  pardon,  by  the  blood 
of  his  Son  ;  and  that  he  offers  you  mercy  if  you  will 


HOME.  175 

submit  to  have  him  reign  over  you.  Will  you  do 
so  ?" 

So  the  proud  heart  was  broken,  and  the  sinner 
knelt,  and  confessed  his  guilty  rebellion,  and  rose 
up  "justified;"  the  love  of  God  filling  his  heart. 
No  longer  he  complains  that  others  are  saved ;  he 
only  wonders  why  he  was  spared ;  why  frowning 
justice  consented  to  smile  on  his  soul,  and  mercy 
stooped  to  heal  his  sinful  heart.  And,  in  every 
form  of  trial  and  suffering,  since  that  hour,  he  has 
proved  that  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was 
sufficient  for  him. 

The  faithful  pastor  did  not  omit  to  preach  in  the 
neglected  districts,  where  piety  had  been  almost  for- 
gotten. There,  indeed,  the  gospel  was  welcomed. 
The  young,  especially,  crowded  the  school-houses 
and  dwellings  to  hear  the  words  of  life.  Some,  too, 
came  to  mock.  Some  of  the  older  sinners  were 
angry  at  being  disturbed  in  their  sins.  Repent ; 
not  they  !  Keep  the  Sabbath  ?  Why,  they  did'nt 
work  much,  and  as  for  avoiding  other  modes  of 
desecrating  it,  that  was  an  "  orthodox"  affair.  But 
still,  in  those  districts  where  the  people  had  so  en- 
tirely forgotten  the  public  worship  of  God,  there 
was  very  little  error  prevalent,  the  heart  did  not 
seem  so  indurated  by  sin.  One  family  after  an- 
other, who  Find  listened  to  the  evening  sermon  in  the 


176  HOME. 

school-room,  began  to  frequent  the  house  of  wor- 
ship. A  visible  improvement  in  morals,  intelligence, 
good  manners,  jftid  taste  in  dress  appeared,  even 
where  the  heart  was  not  affected.  In  a  few  years, 
these  neglected,  forgotten  districts  were  more  fully 
instructed  in  the  truths  of  the  gospel  than,  perhaps, 
any  other  part  of  Home.  On  those  who  sat  in 
darkness,  great  light  shone.  There  was  one  con- 
version, early  in  the  revival  of  pure  faith  in  Home, 
that  always  impressed  me  very  much.  It  was  that 
of  an  aged  sinner. 

He  was  a  soldier,  both  in  the  old  French  war, 
and  in  the  Revolution.  He  had  a  mind  of  far  more 
than  ordinary  power ;  his  reasoning  faculties  were 
especially  strong.  No  disguises  of  sophistry  could 
blind  his  powers  of  analysis.  I  believe  he  always 
derided,  as  weak,  the  arguments  men  urged  against 
the  doctrines  of  the  Pilgrims.  Not  that  he  cared 
for  religion  ;  not  he !  In  the  army  he  became  in- 
temperate and  infidel  in  his  views,  or  rather  in  his 
fedings  more  properly.  He  never  would  hear  any 
one  assail  the  truth  without  reply  !  He  had  a  frame 
of  iron.  No  severity  of  toil  seemed  to  shake  it. 
In  old  age  he  had  the  strength  of  early  manhood. 
But  he  lived  in  sin.  In  other  days,  his  life  was  a 
standing  reproach  to  the  gospel.  For  who  so  con- 
stantly and  powerfully  defended  the  doctrines  of  the 


HOME.  1 77 

Bible,  as  this  gray  headed  sinner!  Men  said  that 
they  preferred  a  better  life  with  a  shorter  creed ! 
They  did  not  so  much  consider  that  his  life  was  at 
war  with  his  theory.  At  last,  when  nearly  fourscore 
years  old,  the  Holy  Spirit  made  the  truths  his  lips 
had  always  defended,  a  sword  to  slay  the  sins  of 
his  heart  The  gray  head  became  a  crown  of  glory, 
because  it  was  found  in  the  way  of  righteousness. 
Storm  or  sunshine,  his  venerable  form  was  always 
in  the  pulpit,  by  the  side  of  the  minister,  though 
he  lived  remote  from  the  meeting.  The  last  time 
I  saw  him  was  at  his  own  fireside.  He  had  lived 
to  see  almost  one  hundred  years.  Many  around 
him  had  risen  up  to  bless  him  for  his  prayers,  his 
warnings,  his  holy  living.  He  spoke  with  an  old 
soldier's  ardor  of  the  struggles  of  our  fathers  in  the 
days  of  peril ;  but  his  eyes  lighted  up  with  rapture 
when  the  Captain  of  salvation  was  named.  "  Yes, 
I  shall  soon  see  him  in  his  glory !  I  am  waiting  to 
be  called  home.  And  then  I  shall  no  longer  be 
fettered  with  this  dying  body ;  for  I  know  I  shall  be 
like  Him." 

The  people  of  Home  were  ever  humane  to  the 
poor.  It  was  one  of  the  first  towns  in  the  country 
to  provide  well,  handsomely,  for  their  comfort  But 
the  soul  was  forgotten,  till  the  faithful  pastor  set  the 
example  of  preaching  in  the  poor-house.  There, 


178  HOME. 

too,  fruits  of  his  fidelity  were  found.  Thus,  in  all 
Home,  the  poor,  once  more,  had  the  gospel  preach- 
ed to  them.  If  the  gospel  was  hidden  from  any 
class,  as  such,  it  was  from  the  rich.  For,  perhaps 
at  no  period  did  the  selfish,  grasping  spirit  of  our 
rich  men  become  so  manifest,  and  so  hard  to  be 
borne  by  its  victims,  as  after  the  restoration  of  the 
pure  faith  was  begun.  They  hardened  themselves 
in  sin,  and  sometimes  took  no  little  pains  to  draw 
others  away  from  the  faith.  With  what  fiendish 
joy  one  of  them  once  boasted  of  his  success  in 
"  driving  religion  out  of  the  head"  of  a  young  man 
who  bad  been  awakened,  and  seemed  almost  per- 
suaded to  be  a  Christian !  The  young  man  after- 
wards became  a  profligate  infidel,  and  for  years 
was  a  despiser  of  all  good,  and  especially  of  the 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit 

The  spiritual  pastors1  at  once  gave  their  atten- 
tion to  the  instruction  of  the  young.  The  Sabbath 
schools  and  Bible  classes  they  formed  in  different 
parts  of  the  town  embraced  not  only  the  youth  of 
their  own  churches,  but  many  others,  who  had  no 
religious  instruction  at  home.  The  aged,  too,  soon 
began  to  join  the  classes ;  the  more  readily,  because 
the  old  country  habit  of  staying  at  noon  was  still 

1  Referring  to  the  Baptists  and  Methodists,  as  well  as 
the  Congregationalists.  .  . 


HOME.  179 

common.  I  never  felt  deeper  emotion  than  when 
standing  before  a  Sabbath  school  class  composed  of 
eight  persons  over  seventy  years  of  age.  All  but 
one  of  them  were  old  disciples.  What  could  youth 
teach  them  of  the  love  of  Christ,  or  the  experiences 
of  the  Christian  life  ?  The  teacher  became  the 
pupil.  But  the  example  was  a  blessed  one.  It 
taught  all  men  to  reverence  the  Bible,  to  see  gray 
heads  sitting  down  with  little  children,  often  their 
great  grand-children,  to  study  its  sacred  pages. 

The  teachers  of  error  began  to  be  aware  of  the 
power  the  Sabbath  school  was  gaining,  for  the  gos- 
pel, over  the  minds  of  the  young.  Much  as  they 
derided  Ellen  C's  school,  years  before,  it  now  began 
to  be  found  out,  that  if  the  young  mind  was  so  pure 
by  nature,  it  would  not  continue  so  without  appro- 
priate education.  This  drew  some  away  from  the 
influences  of  the  gospel.  But  with  hardly  one  ex- 
ception, all  of  the  first  generation  of  Sabbath  schol- 
ars are  now  members  of  the  churches.  For  some 
years,  there  were  scarcely  any  others  converted  to 
Christ.  I  know  not  that  many  were  converted  by 
the  direct  agency  of  Sabbath  school  instruction. 
But  they  were  prepared  by  it  for  an  intelligent 
hearing  of  the  gospel.  So  that  it  was  the  same 
thing,  in  the  end.  Give  me  a  thorough,  intelligent 
acquaintance  with  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  in  the 


180  HOME. 

hearer,  if  you  wish  to  have  his  soul  subdued  by  the 
power  of  the  cross.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that 
such  an  acquintance  with  the  truth  hardens  the 
heart.  Nay,  repeated  awakenings,  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  do  not  harden  the  heart,  unless  the  power 
of  grace  is  directly  and  wilfully  resisted.  It  rather 
prepares  the  way  for  an  easier  conquest  of  the  af- 
fections for  Christ.  Probably  very  little  faithful 
teaching  is  unaccompanied  by  divine  influence. 
It  would  be  a  sad  task,  indeed,  to  teach  our  chil- 
dren day  by  day,  morning  and  evening,  "  here  a 
little  and  there  a  little,"  if  the  necessary  effect,  by 
the  laws  of  their  nature,  sinful  as  it  may  be,  was  to 
harden  them,  up  to  the  hour  of  their  conversion. 
My  mind  was  first  called  to  the  fallacy  of  the  pop- 
ular notion  on  this  subject,  by  the  reports  of  the 
Ceylon  Mission.  The  substance  of  the  repeated 
statements  of  Poor,  Winslow,  Scudder,  and  other 
spiritual  men  and  clear  observers,  was,  that  those 
who  had  once  been  awakened,  were  the  surest  to 
be  again  the  subjects  of  divine  influence,  and  the 
most  certain  to  become,  after  a  time,  the  children 
of  God.  Much  observation,  since,  has  confirmed 
the  view.  While  the  renewal  of  the  heart,  in  one 
respect,  is  the  work  of  divine  power,  in  a  moment 
of  time,  still,  every  power  of  the  soul,  before  and 
after  that  point,  is  gradually  educated  by  the  Holy 


HOME.  181 

Spirit,  and  trained  to  harmonious,  holy  action. 
This  is  the  reason  why  those  who  are  well  trained 
for  years,  are  more  useful  and  well  balanced  disci- 
ples, than  persons  who  have  lived  to  adult  years 
ignorant  of  the  gospel.  The  soil  is  better  fitted  for 
the  sower ;  the  harvest  is  richer.  When  will  men 
learn  that  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  ever  act- 
ing upon  every  human  soul  ? — that  its  sanctifying 
power  is,  in  general,  just  in  proportion  to  the  amount 
of  truth,  adapted  to  the  condition  and  wants  of  the 
individual  mind! — that  this  is  the  philosophy  of 
the  direction  to  divide  rightly  the  word  of  truth, 
giving  to  every  man  his  portion  in  due  season? 
— that,  in  a  word,  the  laws  of  sandification  are  as 
fixed,  as  immutable,  and  may  be  as  perfectly  known 
as  the  principles  of  Chemistry  or  any  other  science  ? 
I  have  much  wished  to  see  some  profound  rea- 
soning intellect,  governed  by  holy  affections,  devote 
years  of  life  to  an  analysis  of  Christian  experience,  as 
developed  by  the  lives  of  all  classes  of  men.  The 
greatest  source  of  error  would  be,  that  we  have  so 
imperfect  a  record  of  the  errors  and  sins  of  any. 
Who  would  ever  know  that  Payson  had  a  fault, 
from  his  memoir?  Yet,  if  he  had  not  sins  many 
and  obvious,  his  diary  is  only  a  new  case  of  the 
morbid  anatomy  of  diseased  piety  ?  The  biography 
that  so  conceals  the  nature  of  the  sins  of  an  emi- 
16 


182  HOME. 

nent  Christian  is  of  little  value,  with  reference  to 
any  real  progress  in  divine  life.  The  value  of  the 
lessons  of  the  judgment  day  will  very  much  depend 
on  its  perfect  development  of  the  sins  of  the  holy, 
their  struggles  with  temptation,  and  the  modes  in 
which  the  victory  was  secured. 

The  temperance  reform,  like  all  other  reforma- 
tions in  morals,  is  no  party  or  sectarian  work.  Yet 
it  is  true,  beyond  question,  that  those  who  loved 
the  pure  faith  were  its  earliest,  most  ardent  friends. 
For  years,  the  pious  who  were  not  its  friends  were 
the  rare  exceptions.  It  was  not  so  with  other  men. 
But  in  the  end,  all  men  are  led  to  see  the  moral 
value  of  such  reforms ;  and  a  thousand  motives, 
besides  a  regard  to  man's  spiritual  welfare  may,  nay 
ought  to  excite  men  to  labor  in  them.  For  every 
right  motive,  whether  it  is  drawn  from  the  influence 
an  act  may  exert  on  ourselves  or  others,  our  pre- 
sent good,  or  our  salvation,  should  have  its  proper 
place.  Only,  let  the  love  of  Christ  be  the  control- 
ling, governing  principle  of  our  life.  Then  we 
shall  please  him,  while  we  benefit  our  fellow-men. 

There  is  a  large  class  of  men  who  do  not  judge 
of  the  truth  or  value  of  any  religious  doctrine  by  its 
effects  on  their  sympathies,  or  its  appeals  to  their 
reason.  They  may  admit  your  arguments  to  be 
strong,  your  proofs  decisive,  your  appeals  eloquent. 


HOME.  183 

Still,  they  refuse  to  submit  their  own  hearts  to  its 
claims.  It  is  not  from  enmity  to  the  gospel.  They 
hate  it  no  more  than  other  sinners ;  perhaps  not  so 
much.  They  treat  it  with  respect.  But  they  want 
to  see  its  value  tested  by  experience.  As  they  see 
men  made  more  pure,  honest,  meek,  humble,  be- 
nevolent, by  its  power,  they  yield  themselves  to  its 
control  It  is  in  vain  you  tell  them  that  God  has 
a  rightful  claim  to  their  hearts,  to-day.  They  may 
admit  it.  But  if  they  see  God  manifest  in  the  life 
of  the  disciple,  and  that  life  is  holy,  your  argument 
has  power.  The  class  of  cautious,  ultra,  prudent 
men,  I  believe  are  seldom  won  to  Christ  by  any 
other  power  than  that  of  the  Christian  life.  And, 
on  the  introduction  of  the  pure  faith  where  it  has 
been  forgotten  or  is  unknown,  the  influence  of  re- 
ligion on  the  temper,  the  passions,  the  social  habits, 
the  morals,  and  other  more  obvious  acts  of  the 
Christian,  will  be  far  more  carefully  weighed,  by 
this  class  of  men,  than  the  inward  spirit.  If  the 
outer  temple  is  fair  and  firm,  they  may  venture 
within.  The  more  sanguine,  at  once  examine  the 
very  penetralia  of  the  building.  It  is  not  easy  to 
say  which  form  the  most  useful  Christians  when 
they  are  converted.  But  their  very  nature  makes 
the  first  more  firm  in  purpose,  though  their  power 
to  win  others  by  appeals  to  their  affections  is  less. 


184  HOME. 

It  once  tried  me,  very  much,  when  I  saw  this  cau- 
tious, steady,  cool-headed  class  of  men,  in  Home, 
so  steadily,  as  it  seemed,  holding  themselves  aloof 
from  the  influences  of  the  gospel.  I  set  them  down 
as  hardened  in  their  worldliness.  It  was  only  their 
natural  temperament.  When  time  enough  had 
elapsed  to  argue  with  them  by  the  power  of  holy 
living,  they  began,  one  after  another,  to  yield  them- 
selves to  Christ  Holy  families  were  needed,  to 
develope  the  power  of  the  gospel,  in  all  the  relations 
of  life.  God  raised  them  up,  and  scattered  them, 
as  if  on  purpose,  in  every  remote  section  of  the 
town ;  so  that  none  might  want  the  means,  in  their 
ordinary  intercourse  with  men,  of  comparing  the 
teachings  of  the  spiritual  faith  with  the  lives  of 
those  who  claimed  to  love  it.  The  result  was  and 
is  favorable  to  the  truth.  What  preaching  could 
not  do  for  some,  holy  living  and  holy  dying  have 
done.  Men  have  seen  the  truth 

"  drawn  out  in  living  characters," 

and  therefore  they  have  said  that  they  too  would 
yield  their  best  affections  to  its  control. 


185 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  dead  left  alone — Satire,  yet  truth — Religion  imitated 
— Spirit  without  knowledge — Preaching  of  Christ,  but 
not  preaching  Christ — The  wild  flower — Piety  in  chil- 
dren— Benevolence — Paid  pastors  no  "hirelings." 

WHEN  the  godly  withdraw  from  a  corrupt  church, 
the  first  effect  upon  the  old  body  is  evil.  It  leaves 
the  corrupt  to  themselves.  They  have  none,  or  very 
little,  of  the  principle  of  life  remaining.  "  The 
blind  lead  the  blind,  and  both  fall  into  the  ditch." 
It  should  induce  caution.  We  may  decide  rashly 
to  withdraw  from  the  corrupt  body,  before  all  hope 
of  renewed  life  is  really  gone.  And  while  we  are 
permitted,  even  with  much  suffering,  to  labor  within 
the  body  to  revive  it,  it  is  seldom  wise  to  withdraw. 
When  once  the  pious  have  separated,  it  requires 
time  and  many  forms  of  influence  to  give,  from 
without,  the  impulse  to  reform  within  the  body. 
But  it  can  be  done.  Faith  and  perseverance  build 
the  city,  or  destroy  it. 

No  more  severe  or  just  estimate  of  the  spiritual 
condition  of  the  decayed  church,  when  the  pious 
16* 


lOO  HOME. 

have  departed  was  ever  drawn,  than  in  a  letter  that 
a  fallen  minister  addressed  to  one  of  the  churches 
of  Home,  after  the  death  of  their  pastor.  It  was  to 
this  effect : 

"  Dear  Friends. — I  warmly  sympathize  with  you 
in  view  of  the  great  loss  you  have  sustained  in  the 
removal  of  your  pastor  to  another,  and,  I  trust,  a 
better  world.  I  feel  for  the  church,  and  would  be 
glad  to  do  anything  in  my  power  for  its  welfare. 
I  will  very  gladly  come  and  preach  for  you,  at  a 
cheap  rate,  till  you  have  time  to  look  about  you  for 
another  shepherd.  And  I  am  not  at  all  particular 
what  doctrines  I  preach ;  be  it  Unitarianism,  Univer- 
salism  or  Orthodoxy.  I  will  conform  to  the  wishes 
you  may  express  on  the  subject,  being  always  will- 
ing to  give  satisfaction  to  my  employers,  and  espe- 
cially to  benefit  those  in  whom  I  naturally  feel  so 
deep  an  interest,  as  I  do  in  the  people  of  Home. 
Let  me  hear  soon,  and  believe  me,  I  am  as  you  are, 
and  you  are  as  I  am.  W.  W." 

The  pious  are  stable  in  their  opinions,  because 
their  doctrinal  views  enter  deeply  into  their  Chris- 
tian experience.  But  when  the  truth  is  lost,  the 
mind  of  man  is  often  like  the  waves  of  the  sea. 
There  is  very  little  definiteness  of  ideas  or  firmness 
of  belief  on  religious  topics.  There  is  a  marked 


HOME.  187 

disposition,  always,  to  substitute  "  sincerity"  or  "  lib- 
erality," or  some  other  equivocal  virtue,  for  true 
holiness ;  and  amiable  manners  and  feelings,  for  the 
love  of  Christ.  The  people,  in  general,  were  "  not 
particular  about  doctrines,"  unless  the  majority 
might  be  averse  to  the  truth.  A  few  desired  to 
hear  the  faith  of  the  fathers  once  more.  One  hum- 
ble man  spoke  of  the  need  of  a  pious  pastor.  The 
most,  wanted  the  zeal  and  efficiency  of  true  reli- 
gion, without  the  doctrines  that  gave  them  birth. 
In  a  word,  the  gospel  had  so  far  impressed  all 
minds,  that  a  conviction  that  some  important  change 
in  their  condition  was  needed,  was  universal.  Some 
preferred  to  adopt  a  newer  system  of  error.  Others 
preferred  to  attempt  an  imitation  of  the  religious 
life,  without  the  principles  on  which  it  should  have 
been  founded. 

The  Sabbath  school,  it  was  vejp  easy  to  copy,  in 
form,  though  it  was  not  so"  easy  to  find  men  willing 
to  pray  at  the  opening  of  its  session,  if  the  pastor 
was  not  there. 

The  social  prayer-meeting  was  far  more  difficult 
to  copy.  Men  were  not  in  the  habit  of  praying. 
They  had  no  great  idea  of  the  power  or  utility  of 
prayer ;  and  their  hearts  did  not  love  it  So  the 
meeting  became  a  social  gathering,  where  ladies 
brought  their  knitting,  and  fruits  and  jellies  were 


188  HOME. 

served  up.  Still,  the  opening  prayer,  and  the  hour 
spent  in  conversation  respecting  Bible  truths,  were 
not  without  benefit.  The  teaching  here,  and  in  the 
Sabbath  school,  might  be  full  of  error ;  but  there 
could  hardly  fail  to  be  much  truth  also.  And  when 
men  meet  together  for  the  very  purpose  of  studying 
the  Bible,  with  reference  to  its  practical  influence 
over  their  own  hearts  and  lives,  it  cannot  fail  to 
have  a  decided  tendency  to  sanctify  them,  or  to 
prepare  them  to  be  sanctified.  When  the  Bible  is 
familiarly  studied,  not  all  the  daring  sophistries  of 
the  false  teacher  can  divest  the  mind  of  the  impres- 
sions which  its  plain  statements  of  the  truths  of 
redemption  will  make.  Family  worship,  in  a  few 
instances,  was  re-established,  by  the  aid  of'forms  of 
prayer.  But  in  many,  the  use  of  these  forms  as 
read,  became  the  substitute  of  secret  prayer. 

The  influence  from  without  is  felt  in  various 
forms.  Some,  while  on  visits  to  friends  abroad,  be- 
come truly  converted  to  Christ.  Holy  affections 
are  kindled  in  their  hearts.  And,  to  the  extent  to 
which  there  is  time  to  mature  their  experience  as 
Christians,  their  intellectual  views  of  the  gospel  be- 
come correct  Returning,  however,  under  the  old 
influences  before  they  have  time  even  fully  to  under- 
stand the  nature  of  their  new  emotion,  listening 
again  to  the  teachings  of  error,  they  make  slow  pro- 


HOME.  189 

gress  in  the  intellectual  knowledge  of  the  gospel. 
But  their  zeal,  their  spirituality,  their  love,  the 
sense  of  guilt  and  the  need  of  a  holy  nature  remain. 
These  fail  not  to  make  an  impression  for  good  on 
others.  Not  a  few,  too,  are  thus  converted,  by  the 
occasional  hearing  of  the  word,  or  by  reading,  at 
home.  Like  the  other  class,  their  imperfect  know- 
ledge hinders  their  progress  in  divine  life ;  still  life 
exists.  They  cease  to  oppose  the  gospel.  They 
are  zealous  for  its  reforming7 influence  and  agencies. 
They  are  benevolent  in  their  lives.  In  many  a 
church  where  error  is  preached,  praying  circles  of 
true  children  of  God  have  thus  been  formed.  They 
are  found  in  every  stage  of  progress.  One,  by  heart- 
felt experience  has  learned  the  value  of  one,  an- 
other of  five,  another  of  ten  important  ideas,  never, 
or  seldom,  heard  in  the  pulpit.  They  are  somewhat 
like  a  blind  man  feeling  his  way  cautiously  in  the 
dark.  Their  progress  is  slow,  but  their  steps  firm. 
It  is  progress. 

Some  persons  of  this  class  have  entered  the  min- 
istry, in  such  churches.  Their  serious,  pungent 
preaching,  has  been  followed  by  real  revivals  of  re- 
ligion, of  true  religion ;  imperfect  in  its  views,  de- 
fective in  its  experiences,  but  still  bearing  the  im- 
press of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Of  course,  the  truth  not 
seen  by  the  mind,  cannot  be  employed  by  the  Spirit 


190  HOME. 

to  sanctify  the  heart  But  life  once  begun,  the 
Lord  of  life  will  carry  on  His  gracious  work  to  its 
consummation,  in  the  world  of  glory. 

Such  instances,  of  a  recent  date,  are  not  wanting 
in  the  churches  of  Home.  May  God  multiply  them 
a  hundred  fold ! 

In  the  attempt  to  revive  the  spirit  of  piety  with- 
out its  principles,  many  of  the  richest  treasures  of 
Christian  faith  in  our  language,  have  been  widely 
circulated  in  Home,  and  elsewhere.  The  practical 
works  of  Flavel,  Baxter,  Bunyan,  Edwards,  the 
Abbotts,  and  a  score  more,  full  of  spiritual  and  sav- 
ing truth,  not  stated  in  offensive  logical  forms,  but 
in  its  relation  to  the  affections  of  sinful  and  holy 
hearts,  cannot  be  read  without  saving  benefit  to 
many.  "Circulate  these  volumes,"  I  once  said  to  a 
dear  friend,  "  and  we  shall  soon  agree  in  our  views 
of  Christ  and  his  gospel." 

"  If  the  result  follows  such  means,  I  shall  heartily 
rejoice  in  it,"  was  the  reply.  The  work  is  begun ! 

How  often  have  I  mourned  over  the  defective 
preaching  of  the  truths  of  salvation  !  The  great  de- 
fect is  the  logical  forms  by  which  the  truth  is  taken 
out  of  its  relations  to  human  character  and  experi- 
ence. No  matter  about  the  logic  of  the  doctrine  of 
election  ?  The  important  thing  is  to  induce  sub- 
mission to  the  will  of  God.  That  will  is  the  will  of 


HOME.  191 

a  holy,  just,  gracious  God.  His  attributes  give  him 
the  right  to  control  us,  and  fit  him  to  do  it.  Hence 
the  duty  of  cordial  submission  to  his  government. 
But  to  fight  over  the  logical  battle  respecting  the 
relations  of  God's  mind,  will,  and  decisions  to  our 
theoretical  freedom,  is  of  little  avail  to  the  mass  of 
minds.  In  logic,  the  masses  will  reject  your  truth. 
Preach  it  with  single  reference  to  faith,  submission 
and  humility,  and  they  will  love  it. 

So,  what  matters  it  that  you  have  ten  thousand 
volumes  of  logical  proof  that  Christ  is  God  ?  and 
as  many  more  that  he  is  Man  ?  Both  are  true  ;  but 
neither  of  them  is  the  Bible  doctrine  of  Christ  It 
is  the  God  manifested ;  the  love,  mercy,  wisdom  and 
power  of  God  revealed  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ, 
that  shall  "  draw  all  men  unto  him."  I  do  not  mean 
to  say  that  the  facts  are  of  no  importance.  But  a 
single  fact  will  show  my  meaning  clearly.  I  have 
listened,  perhaps,  to  200  sermons  on  the  Deity  of 
Christ.  None  of  them,  save  one,  was  preached  with 
primary  and  direct  reference  to  Christian  experience ! 
I  care  not,  as  a  dying  sinner,  for  the  fact  that  my 
Saviour  is  God  ;  unless  you  show  me  the  glory  of 
God,  shining  in  his  face.  Show  me  the  attributes 
of  his  character,  and  my  heart  leaps  forth  to  em- 
brace him.  A  few  "  Revival  Preachers,"  so  called, 
such  as  Burchard  and  Finney,  have  understood  this, 


192  HOME. 

and  their  most  effective  sermons  have  often  been, 
what  I  term  practical  sermons  on  the  Deity  of  Christ. 
So  of  other  gospel  doctrines.  Preach  them  as  they 
relate  to  the  hopes,  fears,  struggles,  doubts,  tempta- 
tions, trials,  joys,  triumphs  of  the  Christian  life  on 
earth  and  in  heaven ;  and  they  become  the  power 
of  God  unto  salvation.  Alas,  how  many  might  be 
obliged  to  lay  aside  their  preaching  of  Christian 
experience,  because  that  to  do  justice  to  such  a 
theme,  one  must  know  more  of  it !  Prove  by  texts 
and  logic,  the  doctrine  of  total  depravity ;  and  I  hate 
it !  But  point  out  the  daily  proofs  of  pride,  selfish- 
ness, vanity,  unbelief,  in  the  heart  and  life,  and  I 
"  abhor  myself,  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes."  For 
my  own  common  sense  teaches  me  that  such  cor- 
rupt fruit  cannot  spring  from  a  good  tree. 

In  the  sands  of  the  desert,  sweet  wild  flowers 
sometimes  bloom  in  beauty.  There  was  one  exam- 
ple of  early  piety  in  Home,  after  the  awakening 
commenced  in  individual  minds,  that  was  never  ac- 
counted for  by  any  reference  to  external  teaching. 
There  was  no  adult  member  of  the  family,  or  its 
connections,  that  professed,  in  theory  or  practice,  to 
be  born  of  the  Spirit ;  none  who  believed  such  a 
doctrine.  They  were  rigidly  moral,  kind,  social. 
In  one  respect,  the  family  was  a  model.  Without 
much  resort  to  the  rod,  the  children,  from  infancy, 


HOME.  193 

were  trained  to  instant  obedience  to  their  parents. 
I  never  knew  more  prompt  and  cheerful  obedience. 
This  made  the  family  circle  an  affectionate  one. 
But    it    was   worldly.      Prayer   was   never    heard 
there.    It  was  the  youngest  son.    He  was  a  lovely 
boy  ;  he  was  beautiful !    His  soft  flaxen  hair  curled 
in  ringlets  on  his  neck.    His  slight  form  was  round- 
ed, and  elastic.     Every  motion  was  graceful.     His 
blue  eye  was  full  of  mirth.    I  am  not  aware  that  he 
was  intelligent,  beyond  his  years ;  but  his  gentle- 
ness, modesty,  wit  and  affectionate  temper,  made 
him  loved  by  all.    I  never  loved  a  companion  of  my 
youth  as   I  loved  him.     Before  he  was  eight  years 
old,  he  was  cut  down,  as  the  tender  grass.    In  the 
intervals  of  suffering,  he  told  his  weeping  friends 
what  delight  he  had  taken  in  prayer,  and  in  the 
Word  of  God,  for  months  before.     He  was  sure  he 
should  go  to  that  Saviour  he  loved ;  and  whose  glo- 
ry as  a  Saviour  from  sin,  had  been  revealed  to  his 
heart.     He   bade  them  shed  no  tears  for  him,  but 
prepare  to  follow  him  up  to  the  throne  of  the  Lamb. 
It  was  strange,  some  said,   to  hear  such  a  mere 
child  talk  so !    So  it  was,  in  Home.    He  had  been 
taught  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  while  none  knew  the 
emotions  of  his  young  heart,  and  fitted  to  be  thus 
early  transplanted  to  the  garden  of  God. 
Another   instance,  at  a  later   period,   was  more 
17 


194  HOME. 

readily  accounted  for.  A  bright  boy,  not  much 
older,  was  often  loitering  around  the  doors  at  the 
meetings  in  the  hut  of  old  George.  His  parents 
would  not  suffer  him  to  enter.  Now  and  then  he 
crept  into  a  corner  at  an  evening  lecture.  He  was 
a  passionate  boy,  full  of  pride,  yet  with  a  warm 
heart  None  ever  spoke  to  him  of  Christ,  in  the 
fraternal  dwelling.  But  he  learned  enough  of  the 
way  of  Life,  while  loitering  around  the  hut,  to  be  led 
by  the  Spirit  to  walk  in  it.  In  a  few  months  his 
young  mind  seemed  to  grasp  the  great  truths  of 
the  gospel  with  a  man's  vigor.  What  joy  he  found 
in  communion  with  his  Saviour !  He,  too,  was  cut 
down  in  an  hour.  The  faithful  reproofs  of  sin  and 
error,  given  on  his  dying  pillow,  roused  more  than 
one  slumbering  conscience  from  a  long  night  of  sin. 
But  God  took  him  up  to  his  home. 

The  spectacle  of  youthful  piety  is  not  now  rare 
in  Home.  And  men  see,  in  these  early  conversions 
to  Christ,  a  lesson  on  the  depravity  of  their  own 
hearts,  that  no  logic,  no  sophistry  can  shake.  When 
infancy  praises  God,  the  aged  sinner  has  no  shelter, 
no  excuse  for  his  life  of  sin. 

I  shall  never  forget  a  scene  in  which  one  of  these 
little  ones  that  believed  in  Christ,  was  an  actor. 

There  was  an  old  man,  more  than  sixty  years  of 
age,  gray-headed,  his  body  bent  down  with  the 


195 


weakness  that  s'm  had  caused.  For  he  had  lived  a 
guilty,  a  criminal  life.  Trained  in  the  knowledge 
of  the  gospel,  he  had  thrown  away  his  early  faith, 
sold  his  Bible  for  rum,  and  avowed  himself  an  un- 
believer,— an  atheist.  His  bad  heart  was  seared  as 
with  a  hot  iron,  by  his  long  career  of  iniquity.  He 
wandered  away  from  his  home  to  a  distant  place, 
that  he  might  be  far  away  from  any  that  knew  him. 
He  wanted  to  sin  without  reproof;  and  that  was  diffi- 
cult, in  the  Christian  village  where  he  was  born 
and  nurtured.  His  own  pious  partner  reproved 
him  by  her  prayers  and  tears,  if  not  by  words.  So 
he  left  his  home  and  became  a  wanderer,  and  a  com- 
panion of  the  vile. 

One  Sabbath  day  he  stood  at  the  door  of  a  grog- 
shop. He  had  no  money,  and  the  liquor-seller  re- 
fused to  supply  his  demands  for  the  poison.  He 
burst  into  a  torrent  of  oaths. 

The  little  one,  on  his  way  to  the  Sabbath  school, 
passed  by,  and  heard  the  blasphemer.  Quietly 
walking  up  to  him,  he  put  his  soft  hand  in  that  of 
the  aged  sinner,  and  said,  with  tears,  "  Please,  Sir, 
do  not  sin  so,  against  my  Saviour !"  The  sinner 
was  melted  in  a  moment  "  What,"  said  he,  "  shall 
my  gray  hairs  be  reproved  by  this  babe  ?"  That 
day  found  him  in  the  house  of  God ;  that  night 
found  him  rejoicing  in  the  forgiving  mercy  of  his 


19O  HOME. 

Saviour.  Another  day,  he  was  far  on  his  way  to 
his  deserted  home,  to  cheer  his  family  with  the 
news  that  "  out  of  the  mouth  of  a  babe,  God  had 
perfected  praise."  The  secret  of  the  power  of 
youthful  piety  is,  that  no  one  can  doubt  its  entire 
sincerity — its  singleness  of  aim.  To  assume  feel- 
ings men  do  not  possess,  and  act  in  character  with 
such  hypocrisy,  requires  more  steadiness  of  pur- 
pose than  children  often  possess.  So  that  the  im- 
pression that  it  is  God's  work,  can  hardly  be  resisted. 
And  what  heart  can  resist  the  simple  pleadings  of 
a  child's  love ! 

I  hardly  need  to  add,  that  in  proportion  as  spirit- 
ual faith  revived  in  Home,  the  spirit  of  benevolence 
towards  all  the  perishing  was  shown  also.  Even  in 
their  days  of  poverty,  the  disciples  learned  never  to 
send  away  empty  those  who  called  for  a  benefit, 
whether  for  the  souls  or  bodies  of  men.  Cove- 
tousness  departs  before  the  presence  of  the  Sa- 
viour. And  when  the  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  is  hon- 
ored, the  day  of  rest  is  saved ;  the  house  of  His 
praise  is  holy,  and  his  worship  fills  the  spirit  with 
peace. 

One  other  illustration  of  the  mode,  in  which  God 
reached  the  lost,  I  must  not  ornit.  Those  who  are 
not  under  the  influences  of  the  gospel  cannot  be 
expected  to  prize  them.  And  when,  in  addition  to 


HOME.  197 

their  lives  of  sin,  there  is  a  profound  ignorance  of 
the  nature  of  the  Christian  faith,  it  is  not  strange 
that  men  are  reluctant  to  pay,  to  support  its  minis- 
ters. There  were  multitudes  in  Home  who  felt 
thus.  No  wonder ;  of  what  benefit  had  been  the 
salaries  paid  to  educated  ministers  ?  They  had 
been  neglected,  despised,  forgotten.  If  they  attend- 
ed on  their  preaching,  it  did  not  address  itself  to 
their  conscious  want  as  sinners.  The  parson  mar- 
ried them  and  buried  them,  and  that  was  all.  The 
magistrate  could  do  the  first,  just  as  well.  And  it 
was  not  to  the  parson's  credit  that  he  spoke  a  few 
words  of  consolation  in  the  hour  of  woe,  but  cared 
nothing  for  their  souls  at  other  times.  There  was 
one  district,  in  the  heart  of  Home,  where  the  entire 
population  seemed  to  be  given  over  to  sin.  Hard 
drinking,  brawls,  profaneness,  Sabbath  breaking, 
lewdness  were  fearfully  rife.  There  was  not  one 
Christian  within  a  mile,  except  an  infirm,  paralytic 
old  woman,  too  far  gone  towards  mental  imbecility 
for  usefulness.  One  or  two,  occasionally  wandered 
to  church,  on  a  very  pleasant  Sabbath,  to  show  a 
new  bonnet,  or  to  meet  some  one  there  for  business 
purposes.  Their  hatred  of  an  educated  ministry 
was  only  equalled  by  their  aversion  to  supporting 
one.  When  our  spiritual  pastors  preached  in  the 
neighborhood,  very  few  would  come  near,  and  no 
17* 


198  HOME. 

access  to  their  hearts  seemed  possible.    The  case 
was  well  nigh  hopeless. 

There  was  dissension  in  one  of  the  spiritual 
churches.  It  referred  to  matters  of  order  and  form, 
not  essential  to  a  living  faith.  Two  or  three  with- 
drew and  obtained  the  stated  labors  of  one  who 
accorded  with  them,  to  supply  their  spiritual  wants. 
But  they  could  not  support  him.  They  were  poor  ; 
he  was  poor.  But  he  had  an  enlightened  under- 
standing and  a  warm  heart.  The  condition  of  this 
desolate  neighborhood  deeply  impressed  him.  But 
what  could  he  do  ?  They  would  not  hear  him. 
Like  Paul,  in  a  similar  case,  he  determined  to 
"catch  them  by  guile."  Accustomed  to  the  labors 
of  the  farm,  he  hired  a  tenement,  and  a  few  acres 
of  land,  and  became  a  farmer  in  the  neighborhood. 
He  "changed  works"  with  them,  suffered  them  to 
take  the  lead  in  conversation,  listened  patiently  to 
their  follies,  avoided  any  attack  on  their  ignorant 
prejudices ;  but  gently  and  humbly  reproved  their 
sins.  The  plain  man  who  worked  in  their  fields, 
as  an  hired  laborer,  and  who  asked  no  pay  for 
preaching,  they  were  willing  to  hear  on  the  Sab- 
bath. Familiar  with  their  daily  habits  and  feelings, 
he  wisely  adapted  his  preaching  to  their  wants. 
He  won  their  attention,  their  respect,  their  love. 
In  several  instances  the  Holy  Spirit  sealed  his 


HOME.  199 

work  by  their  conversion  to  Christ.  Vice  disap- 
peared, the  grog-shop  was  closed,  the  Sabbath  re- 
spected, the  people  flocked  to  the  house  of  prayer. 
Those  who  cared  little  for  the  word  spoken,  often 
loved  the  music  of  warm  hearts  and  cheerful  voi- 
ces. The  familiar  talking  over  the  lessons  of  truth, 
which  he  called  the  Bible  class,  giving  them  an 
equal  chance  to  express  their  crude  and  often  erro- 
neous ideas,  won  others  still.  Before  a  year  passed 
away,  people  in  other  parts  of  Home  began  to  won- 
der what  had  so  changed  this  desolate  spot.  And 
some  of  our  proudest  opposers  of  the  gospel  be- 
gan to  frequent  the  meetings.  God  was  there  ! 

When  the  gospel  found  a  place  in  their  hearts, 
gratitude  for  spiritual  and  social  benefits  received, 
led  them  to  try  to  supply  the  temporal  wants  of 
their  teacher.  They  began  to  see  that  all  the  time 
of  one  who  had  proved  himself  so  true  a  friend  to 
their  souls,  might  profitably  be  spent  in  the  same 
labors.  So  it  was  no  longer  a  selfish  "  hireling" 
that  they  saw  in  the  pastor,  but  one  who  laid  them 
under  weightier  obligations  than  money  could  re- 
pay, by  the  good  conferred  on  them.  Then,  if  he 
was  to  be  able  to  meet  their  growing  thirst  for 
knowledge,  he  must  have  time  for  thought  and 
study,  or  he  would  cease  to  be  their  fit  guide.  So 
the  reign  of  grace  and  common  sense  began  to- 
gether. 


200 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

A  century  passed — Twilight — Logic  of  the  heart — Spirit- 
ual discernment — The  "  set  time  to  favor  Zion"  come — 
The  revival — The  wise  need  teaching. 

ONE  HUNDRED  years  had  passed  by ;  three  gene- 
rations of  men  had  lived  and  died  and  gone  to  the 
judgment  since  the  last  general  effusion  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  to  gather  numbers  at  once  into  the 
kingdom  of  his  Son.  In  that  time,  vital  godliness 
had  declined,  and  error  usurped  the  place  of  truth, 
till  the  gospel  had  scarcely  a  name  to  live.  Then, 
gradually  the  grace  of  God  had  brought  salvation 
to  one  house  after  another,  till  hundreds  once  more 
loved  the  faith  of  the  fathers,  and  worshipped  their 
fathers'  God.  The  gospel  in  its  purity  was  again 
preached  ;  the  long  night  of  stupor  broken  up,  and 
few,  very  few,  remained  so  entirely  unacquainted 
with  the  leading  doctrines  of  the  cross,  that  they 
could  sin  in  ignorance  of  them.  Among  those  who 
persisted  in  rejecting  the  gospel,  there  were  very 
few  who  had  not,  often  without  being  aware  of  it, 
imbibed  some  of  its  ideas.  Religious  knowledge 
had  increased,  all  admitted. 


The  teachers  of  error  no  longer  avoided  the  use 
of  the  words  that  expressed  sound  doctrine.  They 
even  talked  and  prayed  for  a  "  revival  of  religion," 
and  began  to  mark  more  carefully  a  distinction  be- 
tween the  worldly  moral  man  and  the  true  disciple. 
No  matter  if  the  difference  was  not  clearly  defined ; 
still  it  was  a  great  advance  to  admit  that  there  was 
one ;  and  to  have  even  teachers  urge  men  to  be- 
come Christians,  and  live  holy  lives,  who  had  long 
been  satisfied  with  a  mere  formal  profession  of  faith 
and  outward  morality ;  nay,  had  long  been  taught 
to  believe  that  no  change  of  heart  was  needed  by 
any  but  the  vicious. 

Their  zeal  for  every  form  of  social  reformation 
became  marked.  Their  labors  to  make  men  be- 
nevolent in  life,  if  not  very  successful,  still  did  some 
good.  For  the  warm  sympathies  elicited,  and  the 
habits  of  right  action  formed,  brought  some  minds 
under  the  control  of  the  principles  of  holy  living. 
The  struggle  to  be  less  selfish,  shows  men  that 
there  is  deeper  depravity  within  them  than  they  had 
been  conscious  of.  They  are  led  to  pray  for  help, 
first,  and  then  for  mercy.  The  consciousness  of 
guilt,  the  feeling  that  they  do  not  deserve  the  good 
they  receive,  or  the  mercy  they  ask,  leads  them  to 
ask  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  Their  sense  of  depen- 
dence on  him  for  peace  of  conscience  gradually 


makes  him  the  object  of  worship,  of  adoring  love. 
Then  the  glories  of  his  divine  character,  as  the 
revealed  and  revealing  Deity  are  seen,  and  they  be- 
come spiritual  worshippers  of  "  Him  that  sitteth 
upon  the  throne,  and  of  the  Lamb."  The  ideas  of 
the  reasoning  intellect  may  or  may  not  keep  pace 
with  this  logic  of  the  heart.  But  some  progress  is 
secured  always.  The  need  of  prayers  becomes  an 
admitted  fact.  The  teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
sought,  is  found.  So  holy  affections  correct  the 
faith,  and  correct,  ideal  faith  purifies  and  gives  pow- 
er to  holy  affections  towards  God  and  man. 

Another  result  of  this  twilight  state  is,  that 
numbers  are  led  to  unite,  with  the  churches.  The 
pastors  become  solemn  in  their  preaching,  arouse 
many  consciences,  and  excite  emotion  in  many 
hearts.  Their  intellectual  views  of  truth  are  not 
clear  or  correct  enough  to  lead  most  of  these 
awakened  persons,  at  once,  to  the  Saviour.  They 
have  a  sense  of  sin,  more  or  less  strong  ;  a  feeling 
of  their  obligation  to  holy  living,  in  the  same  pro- 
portion ;  and  they  pray  for  mercy ;  they  become 
active  in  such  forms  of  doing  good  to  men  as  are 
set  before  them  as  duty.  This  secures  some  degree 
of  peace  of  mind.  It  is  peace  derived  from  reli- 
gious sources.  It  is  new  to  them.  The  pastor  bids 
them  hope,  believe,  rejoice,  and  openly  profess  their 


HOME.  203 

Christian  faith.  United  with  the  church,  they  some- 
times continue  to  make  progress,  sometimes  be- 
come dead.  If  the  work  of  grace,  or  renewed  and 
holy  affections  is  really  begun,  there  is  progress  in 
experience  and  in  ideal  views  of  divine  truth.  If 
there  are  no  gracious  affections ;  if  it  has  been 
merely  the  awakened  conscience,  checking,  for  a 
moment,  the  power  of  a  selfish  heart,  the  result  is 
blindness  and — what  is  called  by  a  strange  misno- 
mer— spiritual  pride  !  It  is  a  satisfaction  with  our- 
selves, and  a  feeling  of  security,  based  on  supposed 
attainments  in  divine  life  which  have  no  reality. 
The  pride  of  the  heart  is  not  subdued  ;  sin  may  be 
refined,  but  it  reigns,  still,  in  undiminished  power. 
I  know  such  "  spiritual  pride"  may  exist,  at  times, 
when  the  heart  has  really  felt  the  power  of  divine 
grace ;  but  it  is  the  habitual  state  of  mind  in  the 
unconverted  professor  of  religion,  so  long  as  he 
remains  unconscious  of  his  want  of  true  piety. 
Would  God,  that  none  hut  the  teachers  of  error 
were  found  in  this  state  of  twilight !  Do  not  many, 
who  intellectually  receive  the  truth,  equally  fail  to 
mark  the  difference  between  the  awakened  and 
the  converted  ?  Between  the  work  of  the  con- 
science, and  the  effects  of  holy  love  ?  The  alarms 
and  remorse  of  a  guilty  conscience  may  cease,  and 
calm  and  peace  follow,  without  the  existence  of  any 


204  HOME. 

holy  affections.  How  many,  in  that  state,  are  en- 
couraged to  hope  they  are  Christians !  How  many 
mistake  the  hopes  and  peace  that  they  thus  obtain, 
for  those  which  arise  in  the  pardoned  man's  bosom ! 
The  rule  of  duty  is  this : — encourage  no  man  to 
hope  he  is  converted  and  forgiven,  till  the  existence 
of  holy  affections  appears  to  be  morally  certain. 
Men  are  ready  enough  to  hope,  to  build  on  a  false 
foundation,  without  prompting.  But  the  more 
thoroughly  they  are  tested,  in  the  outset,  the  better 
for  their  stability,  if  they  are  Christians  ;  the  better 
for  them  and  for  the  church,  if  they  are  not, 

Without  such  skill  to  "discern  between  the 
righteous  and  the  wicked,"  no  soundness  of  creed 
or  forms  of  worship  will  prevent  the  church  from 
being  filled  up  with  worldly  persons.  The  pastor 
should  be,  not  merely  converted,  but  a  matured 
Christian.  "  Not  a  novice,"  because  he  is  unfit  for 
the  duties  of  the  calling.  Zeal  may  abound,  he 
may  desire  to  do  good,  his  heart  may  be  right,  but 
still  he  be  very  unfit  for  the  work.  I  suppose  none 
will  doubt  that  our  Saviour  \vasjitted  to  preach  the 
gospel  at  ten  years  of  age.  He  waited  till  he  was 
thirty,  before  he  began.  It  was  not  for  want  of  ho- 
liness or  knowledge,  or  power  to  read  men's  hearts. 
The  example  is  worth  the  attention  of  those  who 
think  and  say  that  "  half  of  life  is  wasted  if  a  man 


HOME.  205 

does  not  begin  to  preach  till  thirty."    The  example 
may  not  be  binding,  but  is  safe. 

"  The  set  time  to  favor  Zion,"  had  come. 
Why  ?  Because  the  way  of  the  Lord  had  been 
thoroughly  prepared.  The  truth  was  known.  Its 
power  over  the  conscience  was  generally  establish- 
ed. Its  general  obligations  were  no  longer  dispu- 
ted. The  power  of  sympathy  could  now  act  on  a 
multitude,  at  once.  So  that,  when  the  Holy  Spirit 
began  to  awaken  a  man,  every  external  influence 
was  no  longer  arrayed  against  his  conversion.  It 
was  no  more  an  effort  to  make  flowers  bloom  in  the 
desert ;  it  was  to  cultivate  fruit  in  a  garden.  Holy 
living  had  settled  the  question,  in  all  minds,  of  the 
power  of  the  gospel  to  transform  the  human  char- 
acter, and  make  it  lovely,  in  every  condition  of  life. 
The  conflict  was  now,  chiefly,  the  direct  issue  be- 
tween the  admitted  claims  of  Christ,  and  the  love 
of  sin  in  the  heart 

Now  the  God    of  our   fathers  remembered  his 
gracious  covenant ;  and  the  prayers  of  many  gen- 
,  erations  came  up  before  him,  as  sweet  incense ; 
and  he  sent  down  his  Holy  Spirit  in  genial  showers. 
There  is  sometimes  a  marked  incident  to  desig- 
nate the  visible  commencement  of  such  displays  of 
grace.    It  may  be  a  sudden  death ;  a  new  preach- 
er tir.!  (Conversion  of  an  old  man,  or  a  child,  or  the 
18 


206  HOME. 

death  of  a  sinner.  Here  it  was  not  so.  The  faith- 
ful pastors  diligently  pursued  the  round  of  labor, 
teaching  the  young,  warning  the  old,  comforting  the 
afflicted,  succoring  the  tempted.  One  day,  with- 
out the  least  previous  indication  of  change,  as  a 
pastor  was  at  work  in  his  garden,  a"  young  man  ap- 
proached and  desired  to  converse  with  him  alone. 
He  was  intelligent,  moral,  acquainted  with  the  truth, 
but  full  of  high  hopes  of  worldly  honor. 

"  Have  you  anything  very  particular  to  say  ? 
you  see  I  am  freeing  my  garden  from  its  weeds." 
There  had  been  no  conversion  for  some  time.  The 
pastor  expected  an  invitation  to  attend  a  wedding. 
But  as  he  spoke,  he  glanced  a  second  time  at  the 
young  man's  face,  and  saw  his  lips  quiver,  and  his 
eyes  red  with  weeping.  Trembling  himself  with 
new  emotions  he  said,  "  come  into  my  study  ;"  and 
led  the  way.  The  young  man's  heart  was  full. 
He  wanted  only  to  know  how  he  should  find  salva- 
tion from  sin.  They  talked,  they  wept,  they  knelt, 
they  prayed ;  and  the  young  man  arose,  and  went 
down  to  his  house  justified ;  for  the  Saviour  was 
revealed  to  him. 

The  pastor  returned  to  his  garden ;  but  in  vain 
he  tried  to  pluck  the  weeds  ;  his  heart  was  too  full, 
"  Is  God,  in  very  deed,  in  our  midst,  and  I  knew  it 
not?" 


HOME.  X>07 

That  night  tliere  was  a  meeting  for  prayer  in  a 
remote  corner  of  the  town.  The  pastor  attended, 
and  found  every  seat  filled,  eveiy  eye  attentive, 
every  face  expressive  of  some  unwonted  emotion. 
His  words  of  exhortation  were  answered  by  silent 
tears,  from  more  than  one  who  never  before  wept 
for  sin.  An  old  man,  not  a  disciple,  when  the  meet- 
ing was  over,  rose  and  asked  that  Christians  would 
pray  for  him.  He  had  long  lived  in  sin,  but  now, 
he  said,  he  knew  not  why,  he  felt  a  deep  anxiety 
to  learn  if  there  was  a  way  for  him  to  be  saved. 
Perhaps  the  pastor  would  be  willing  to  preach  there 
the  next  evening,  if  he  would  come  down  for  him, 
in  his  waggon  ?  The  pastor  joyfully  assented. 
Some  others  sought  to  speak  to  him,  and  an  hour 
was  passed  in  imparting  counsel  to  those  who  were 
more  or  less  awakened. 

The  pastor  returned  home,  deeply  humbled.  It 
was  not  that  he  was  conscious  of  any  want  of  fidel- 
ity to  his  duties.  But  he  bad  labored  without  much 
fruit.  Others,  too,  had  labored  there  before  him, 
and  called  it  a  hard  field,  because  so  little  visible 
fruit  followed  their  toils.  But  now  God  had  come. 
Others  sowed,  he  was  to  shout  the  harvest  home ! 

As  he  entered  his  dwelling,  his  wife  remarked, 
"  Who  do  you  think  has  been  here  ?  It  is  Doctor 
,  and  he  is  deeply  convinced  of  his  sins.  I 


208  HOME. 

told  him  you  would  see  him  before  you  slept,  if  you 
were  not  too  much  exhausted.  I  hope  you  will  go ; 
it  is  only  nine. 

The  house  was  a  mile  distant  in  another  course. 
So  here,  in  a  single  day,  were  proofs  of  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  these  distant  sec- 
tions of  the  town.  A  few  days  more  showed  that 
it  was  so  everywhere.  As  God  had  scattered  the 
earlier  fruits  of  faith  in  all  parts  of  the  place,  that 
the  word  of  life  might  be  held  forth  before  all  eyes ; 
so  now,  in  every  part,  the  blessing  followed.  The 
greater  number,  however,  were  found  in  those  dis- 
tricts where  pastoral  neglect,  in  other  days,  had  left 
whole  neighborhoods  to  perish  without  the  gospel. 

In  every  place  where  the  truth  was  preached,  the 
following  Sabbaths  witnessed  the  presence  of  the 
Holy  One.  The  means  of  instruction  were  multi- 
plied, to  meet  the  wants  of  the  people,  but  not  so  as 
to  interfere  with  the  discharge  of  the  ordinary  du- 
ties of  life.  Such  a  course  is  almost  always  wise. 
The  object  of  the  pastor  is  to  make  men  something 
more  and  better  than  meeting-goers.  They  are  to 
be  every-day  Christians.  And  a  religious  life  begun 
with  an  attendance  on  meetings  every  day  or  night 
for  three  months,  is  not  the  most  likely  to  prove  a 
life  of  holy  usefulness.  Besides,  such  a  course  is 
quite  as  likely  to  rouse  more  feeling  than  thought, 


HOME.  209 

and  to  result  in  the  substitution  of  love  for  meetings, 
for  the  love  of  Christ.  There  is  no  universal  rule, 
in  such  cases ;  but  the  safest  general  one  is,  not  to 
hinder  the  discharge  of  men's  daily  duties,  any  fur- 
ther than  a  regard  to  the  state  of  individual  minds 
makes  it  needful.  And  much  observation  has  con- 
vinced me,  that,  with  very  few  exceptions  indeed, 
there  is  no  gain  in  having  awakened  persons  lay 
aside  their  ordinary  avocations,  any  further  than 
their  own,  irrepressible  anguish  may,  at  times,  com- 
pel it.  The  storm  is  more  impressive ;  but,  as  a 
matter  of  taste,  I  prefer  the  gentle  rain.  It  is  quite 
as  efficient  in  covering  the  fields  with  rich  harvests. 
It  is  important,  too,  to  avoid  one  frequent  tenden- 
cy noticed  in  revivals :  viz.,  a  tendency  to  make  re- 
ligion consist  in  emotions  only.  Thus  many  are 
filled  with  hopes  and  joys,  without  changing,  in 
any  material  respect,  the  principles  of  their  daily 
life.  Their  religion  is  for  Sundays  and  holidays ; 
for  special  occasions,  for  sickness,  for  death.  But 
their  business,  their  commerce  with  mankind,  their 
social  life,  are  conducted  on  the  same  principles  of 
worldly  prudence  and  propriety  as  before,  with  lit- 
tle or  no  infusion  of  benevolence  or  self-denial. 
They  pray  according  to  Scripture,  and  "  sell  lum- 
ber," as  they  did  before.  The  severing  of  religion 
from  life,  Jills  up  our  churches  urith  unconverted  per- 
18* 


210  HOME. 

sons,  just  as  surely,  and  even  more  rapidly,  than  those 
errors  that  wrought  such  evil  in  the  days  of  our  fathers. 
>  The  work  of  grace  in  Home  went  on,  not  with- 
out some  excitement,  but  with  little  opposition,  for 
many  months.  A  few  were  converted  who  had  be- 
fore this,  had  little  knowledge  of  the  truth.  But  the 
most  of  the  converts  were  those  who  were  already 
ripe  for  the  harvest  Such  of  the  Sabbath  scholars 
as  had  not  been  already  acquainted  with  Christ, 
were  among  the  earliest  to  receive  him.  Then  the 
steady  attendants  on  worship,  and  then  others,  less 
constantly  under  the  influences  of  grace,  though 
still  enough  so,  to  show  them  their  hearts  were 
brought  nigh  to  the  blood  that  cleansed  them  from 
sin.  There  were  more  young  men,  than  persons 
of  any  other  class ;  but  every  age  supplied  some 
who  had  become  children  of  God.  Lisping  infancy 
sung  God's  praises,  and  gray  hairs  bowed  before  the 
Son  of  God.  So,  too,  persons  of  every  grade  of  in- 
tellect and  every  degree  of  knowledge,  were  united 
to  the  common  Saviour  by  the  same  bonds  of  faith 
and  love.  Brotherly  love,  humility,  charity  abounded. 
Such  scenes  had  long  been  unknown  in  Home. 
How  did  the  hearts  of  a  few  rejoice;  a  few  of  those 
who  thirty  years  before  had  lived  in  the  darkness 
that  might  be  felt,  without  sympathy,  without  social 
prayer,  without  a  faithful  ministry,  or  any  means  of 


HOME.  '-'I 

jrnico,  save  such  as  the  solitude  of  a  worldly  church 
may  supply  !  They  read,  they  prayed,  they  wept 
alone  !  And  now  God  had  given  a  great  company 
the  saving  faith  of  the  gospel ;  and  living  churches 
walked  in  gospel  order  and  purity. 

It  is  yet  too  soon  to  speak  of  the  matured  results 
of  such  a  work.  Its  subjects  are  all  living.  The 
instruction  of  the  young,  the  family  altar,  works  of 
benevolence  and  charity,  all  the  common  duties  of 
religion  and  life  are  faithfully  performed.  The  first 
fruit  is  holy.  The  ripened  fruit  will  be  so.  Still  it 
is  better  to  praise  the  dead  than  the  living.  Their 
account  is  sealed  up ;  their  sins  and  trials  are  end- 
ed ;  their  reward  is  begun  ;  and  their  works  follow 
them.  Of  these  we  can  judge.  The  living  may  be 
even  more  holy ;  but  they  may  also  be  the  "  sound- 
ing brass,  or  the  tinkling  symbal,"  a  glittering  show, 
or  a  pleasant  sound.  We  should  judge  ourselves, 
rather  than  each  other.  Then  shall  we  not  be  con- 
demned with  the  wicked. 

The  work  of  grace  had  reached  the  limits  of  the 
circle  of  prepared  minds.  Then  it  ceased  to  draw 
new  persons  into  its  wave.  Here  were  an  hundred 
new  and  tender  plants  to  be  nurtured  and  matured 
for  life  and  glory.  Every  individual  mind  needs 
watching,  care,  instruction  adapted  wisely  to  its 
wants.  It  is  a  work  of  infinite  moment.  Their  use- 
fulness depends  on  it.  If  they  are  trained  to  holy 


212  HOME; 

living,  and  the  fruits  of  grace  abound  in  them,  very 
soon  another,  and  perhaps  a  larger  class  of  minds 
will  be  brought  within  the  control  of  sympathy,  and 
the  laws  of  the  mind  and  the  grace  of  the  Spirit, 
will  unite  in  bringing  many  more  sons  and  daugh- 
ters unto  glory.  In  due  season  the  laborers  shall 
reap,  if  they  faint  not. 

One  thing  was  worthy  of  remark.  All  men, 
when  awakened,  are  like  children,  needing  instruc- 
tion. No  matter  how  well  acquainted  they  may  be 
with  the  truths  of  religion,  they  need  sympathy  and 
guidance  as  much  as  if  they  had  never  heard  the 
way  of  life.  They  are  to  learn  over  again  all  the 
circle  of  divine  truths,  with  reference  to  the  emo- 
tions of  the  heart.  Their  precious  familiarity  with 
truth,  makes  it  easy  to  learn,  easy  to  guide  them ; 
but  a  guide  they  need,  and  they  are  conscious  of  it 

It  was  remarkable  to  see  how  men  of  strong  in- 
tellect and  high  standing,  showed  the  honor  they 
had  secretly  paid  to  eminent  piety,  when  far  from 
it  themselves.  When  they  were  awakened,  they 
did  not  always  seek  the  counsel  of  the  educated,  or 
of  the  pastors.  But  they  sent  for  the  holy  and 
humble,  those  whose  life  was  evidently  a  life  of 
faith.  Their  counsel,  not  always  clothed  in  classic 
language,  they  received  with  the  simplicity  of  little 
children.  They  wanted,  not  the  logic  of  the  strong 


HOME.  1213 

mind,  or  the  poetry  and  philosophy  of  religion,  but 
its  simple  elements,  such  as  an  humble  heart  must 
know,  and  which,  most  surely,  resulted  from  the 
teaching  of  the  Spirit.  This  was  especially  noticed 
in  some  literary  persons  who  had  been  willing  vo- 
taries of  error.  They  seemed  more  anxious  to  avoid 
a  second  deception,  than  even  to  be  saved!  Fer- 
vent piety,  a  heart  that  had  known  sin  and  the 
Saviour,  and  a  mind  honest  to  utter  its  convictions, 
were  what  they  sought.  Their  choice  of  a  coun- 
sellor showed  how  well  they  had  marked  the  pow- 
er of  the  gospel,  at  a  time  when  they  denied  its 
truths.  Convinced  of  sin,  their  intellectual  errors 
had  no  power  over  them.  "  Don't  argue  with  me," 
said  one,  "  about  the  atonement.  I  can  out  argue 
you.  But  I  find  I  am  a  lost  sinner,  and  need  par- 
don. How  shall  I  obtain  it?"  When  the  mind  is 
in  such  a  state,  it  is  an  easy  task  to  point  to  the 
Lamb  of  God  that  takes  away  sin. 

The  work  of  grace  had  employed  the  hands  and 
hearts  of  all  who  loved  Christ,  in  the  different  sects 
of  true  Christians.  Love  had  broken  down  all  bar- 
riers of  their  diversities  of  creed.  To  win  souls  to 
the  cross  of  Christ  was  their  joy.  And  it  was  plea- 
sant to  see,  that  there  was  no  strife  for  the  converts. 
Quietly  they  were  allowed  to  profess  their  faith 
wherever  their  tastes  or  views  might  lead  them.  A 


214  HOME. 

few  united  with  the  old  churches,  thus  increasing 
the  amount  of  spiritual  life  in  them,  and  hastening 
the  day  of  their  return  to  the  faith  of  our  fathers. 
Surrounded  by  living  Christians,  whose  pure  faith 
and  holy  life  were  everywhere  known,  there  was 
less  danger  that  these  should  be  injured  by  ming- 
ling with  the  worldly  church.  The  degree  of  life 
within  and  the  holy  influence  from  without,  would 
keep  their  feet  from  the  paths  of  sin.  Their  growth 
in  grace  might  be  less  rapid,  but  it  was  not  likely 
to  cease.  Some,  too,  of  the  sons  of  Home  remem- 
ber and  rejoice,  that  the  old  churches  still  stand, 
even  in  the  view  of  the  civil  law,  on  the  basis  of  the 
old,  evangelical  covenants.  They  have  been  laid 
aside,  forgotten ;  but  no  creed  of  error  has  ever 
been  adopted ;  no  formal  rejectioa  of  the  truth  ever 
occurred.  One  day  the  old  foundations  will  again 
be  built  upon,  with  living  stones,  polished  after  the 
similitude  of  a  palace. 


HOME.  215 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

"THE  EAKLY  LOVED,  THE  EAELY 
LOST." 

I.  The  Cousins. 

"  Wait  for  me,  cousin  !  You  are  not  going  home 
alone,  through  the  woods." 

"  Oh,  never  fear  for  me !  Woods  ?  Why  here 
is  only  a  glorious  bower,  for  more  than  a  quarter  of 
a  mile !  These  old  button-wood  trees,  and  the  oaks 
and  walnuts  beyond,  what  a  perfect  arch  of  liv- 
ing green  they  make,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach ! 
And  then,  the  rest  of  the  way  is  through  the  open 
pasture,  and  fields,  till  I  get  close  to  the  back  gate 
of  our  garden.  So  I  don't  need  you,  at  all.  And 
then,  the  stars  shine  so  bright,  through  every  open- 
ing of  this  green  canopy,  that  there  will  be  no 
need  of  lamps  to  light  me.  I  shall  run,  too,  like  a 
deer.  I — "  Something  very  much  like  a  kiss  stop- 
ped all  further  utterance. 

I  am  not  going  to  write  a  love  story,  not  a  word 
of  it,  though  it  begins  with  a  kiss !  The  young  pair 
were  cousins,  and  orphans.  They  had  been  play- 


216  HOME. 

mates  from  infancy.  From  the  time  when  they 
braided  their  hair  together  so  that  the  scissors  had 
to  be  used  to  separate  them,  till  now,  they  had 
shared  every  joy,  hope,  every  little  grief,  every 
present.  I  don't  believe  they  had  many  thoughts 
that  were  not  common  property.  A  secret  neither 
could  keep  without  each  other's  help  !  From  the 
day  when  her  tongue  first  could  lisp,  "  tosen,  tiss 
me,"  till  the  sad  day  when  death  silenced  that 
sweet  voice,  they  never  met  or  parted  without  the 
kiss  of  affection.  As  for  loving  each  other;  why 
they  never  did  anything  else!  But  it  never  oc- 
curred to  either  of  them  to  take  time  to  say  so. 
They  were  both  orphans,  from  early  infancy.  As 
they  grew  up,  that  linked  them  together  more 
closely.  They  were  cousins,  friends,  brother  and 
sister,  everything  to  each  other,  but  lovers. 

Their  first  letters  were  written  to  each  other . 
and  in  every  little  absence  they  had  been  faithful 
correspondents.  Not  a  movement  of  the  lip  of 
each,  but  was  told  to  the  other.  So  they  were  a 
model  of  cousinly  love ! 

He  had  been  absent  a  few  months,  and  had 
found  the  Saviour.  Just  now  they  had  been  attend- 
ing a  social  meeting  in  the  dear  old  house  where 
so  many  happy  hours  of  childhood  were  passed  to- 
gether. He  had  been  telling  his  youthful  associates 


HOME.  217 

of  the  love  of  Christ,  and  exhorting  them  to  flee  to 
the  same  refuge  for  the  guilty.  Her  eyes  had  been 
filled  with  tears  more  than  once.  Indeed,  tho'  he 
spoke  to  others,  every  word  was  meant  for  her,  as 
much  as  if  no  other  had  been  there.  It  was  a 
matter  of  course,  that  he  should  walk  home  with 
her.  And  it  was  quite  plain  that  all  her  talking 
about  this  "  glorious  grove,"  the  "  stars,"  and  "  run- 
ning like  a  deer,"  was  only  to  hide  her  emotion.  It 
was  the  first  feeling  she  had  ever  wished  to  hide 
from  her  cousin ! 

They  walked  down  the  lane,  arched  over  with 
the  noble  shade  trees,  and  the  thick  grove  beyond. 
He  was  trying  to  persuade  her  to  become  a  Chris- 
tian that  very  night.  He  hardly  doubted  of  his 
success  ;  it  was  so  easy  to  love  Christ !  Besides, 
when  had  they  ever  bad  one  separate  joy ! 

And  what  was  the  feeling  she  wished  to  hide  ? 
It  was  a  sorrow  that  her  cousin  had  become  a 
Christian  !  Not  that  the  fact  grieved  her  ;  oh  no  ! 
For  the  world  she  Would  not  have  had  it  otherwise. 
But,  now,  he  had  feelings,  hopes,  joys  in  which  she 
did  not  share  !  He  had  been  imbibing  the  truths 
of  the  gospel,  and  received  them  in  love;  while  she 
had  learned  to  mingle  much  error  with  the  same 
tiuths,  and  the  truths  had  not  power  over  her  heart. 
19 


218  HOME. 

It  seemed  to  cut  asunder  the  love  that  had  grown 
up  with  them  from  infancy. 

IL  Christ  the  best  friend. 

A  few  sentences  of  their  conversation  will  show 
its  import.  Their  frankness  was  not  lost. 

"  Oh  cousin,  how  many  times  I  have  read  every 
one  of  your  letters  over!  It  was  just  like  coming 
home  again,  and  sitting  or  walking  with  you  in 
these  old  woods." 

"  And  I  have  read  yours,  too.  And  I  always  took 
delight  in  them  till — " 

"  Till  what,  dear  cousin  ?" 

"  Why,  till  that  letter  about  loving  Christ  more 
than  all  earthly  friends.  It  seemed  as  though  re- 
ligion was  making  you  unnatural !" 

"  Oh  no !  But  let  us  sit  down  on  the  rock  under 
this  nut-tree,  and  talk  about  it  Stop  till  I  spread 
my  handkerchief.  There  !  So  you  think  it  unnat- 
ural ?" 

a  Yes !  I  do  admire  and  reverence  God  for  his 
greatness,  wisdom  and  power ;  and  I  feel  some- 
times very  grateful  love  for  his  goodness  to  me  and 
to  all  his  creatures.  But — he  is  so  great,  and  so 
out  of  sight,  that  I  can't  feel  such  warm,  hearty  love 
as—" 

"  As  we  feel  for  each  other,  cousin !    Well,  look 


HOME. 

at  it  Did  you  feel  the  same  affection  for  me,  hun- 
dreds of  miles  off,  as  you  do  now,  as  we  sit  un- 
der this  dear  old  tree,  where  we  have  passed  so 
many  happy  hours  ?" 

"  Oh  yes,  and  more  too  !  It  will  make  you  vain 
to  tell  you  how  much  I  loved  you  !" 

"  Dear  cousin,  thank  you  !  But  how  much  less 
we  used  to  think  of  God,  than  of  each  other !  Be- 
cause God  was  invisible,  we  allowed  Him  to  pass 
from  our  thoughts,  except  occasionally ;  though 
every  flower  we  plucked,  every  blade  of  grass, 
every  leaf  in  these  old  woods  has  marks  of  his  con- 
stant presence.  '  In  him  we  live  and  move,  and 
have  our  being.'  And  then  his  character  is  cer- 
tainly far  more  worthy  of  love  than  earthly  objects 
can  be ;  is  it  not  ?" 

"  Yes,  but  it  is  so  exalted ;  so  majestic.  I  feel 
lost,  or  else  terrified,  when  I  think  of  Him  in  all  his 
wisdom  and  holiness.  Besides,  most  of  His  choicest 
blessings  come  to  me  through  his  creatures.  And 
it  seems  as  though,  in  loving  them,  I  was  grateful 
to  Him." 

"  Ah,  cousin,  so  I  felt  once.  God  was  afar  off. 
I  believe  we  agreed  perfectly,  the  last  time  we  talk- 
ed this  over,  at  least  in  our  feelings.  But  look  at 
the  command  ;  '  thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  all  thy  heart.'  Does  not  this  mean  warm  af- 


220  HOME. 

fection,  like  ours  for  our  friends,  only  stronger  and 
purer  ?"  "  It  seems  so  ;  but  I  can't  fed  it."  "  Does 
not  that  very  thing  show  you  the  need  of  the  Me- 
diator ?  When  this  great,  invisible,  perfect  God, 
whom  no  man,  or  angel  hath  seen  or  can  see,  puts 
on  our  nature,  and  reveals  himself  in  Jesus  Christ, 
our  friend,  who  loved  and  died  for  us ;  can  we  not 
love  him  with  perfect  love  ?  Is  not  personal  affec- 
tion for  God  in  Christ  easy  ?  Or  at  least,  it  is  pos- 
sible to  love  perfectly  one  who  has  all  the  sympa- 
thies of  our  nature,  and  still  in  them  all,  shows 
every  attribute  of  God.  '  In  him,'  our  loving,  suf- 
fering, dying  Saviour,  '  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of 
the  Godhead,  bodily.'  True,  he  has  passed  into  the 
heavens,  and  sits  on  his  throne  of  infinite  power 
and  glory.  But  our  own  nature  is  enthroned  there. 
I  know  personal  affection  for  the  invisible  God  is 
impossible.  But  not  for  '  God  manifest  in  the 
flesh.'  Him  we  may  love,  with  all  the  passionate 
ardor  of  our  natures.  We  are  just  as  sure  of  his 
sympathy,  as  you  are  of  mine  ;  and  yet  we  repose 
on  him  as  the  great  I  Am."  "  I  see  that  it  is  so. 
Is  that  what  you  meant  by  the  '  Deity  of  Christ,' 
in  your  letter?  I  read  all  your  arguments,  and 
thought  I  could  answer  most  of  them.  But  this 
is  so  reasonable !  Why  it  is  just  what  we  need 
to  bring  God  to  us ;  or  rather  to  bring  us  to  Him, 
as  you  would  say." 


H  O  M  £  .  321 

"Now  is  not  such  a  friend,  one  who  teaches  us 
truth,  opens  life  to  us,  even  dies  for  our  sins,  offers 
to  secure  our  pardon,  to  help  us  overcome  our  sin- 
ful hearts,  and  to  share  with  us  his  glory  which  he 
had  with  the  Father  before  the  world  (kosmion- 
creation)  was  ;  is  he  not  to  be  lovedyar  more  ivarm- 
ly  than  any  earthly  friend  ?  And  is  it  not  very  sin- 
ful in  us  not  to  love  him  so  ?  Oh,  cousin,  give  him 
your  whole  heart !  If  we  are  true  to  the  higher 
laws  of  our  nature,  it  must  be  anything  but  '  un- 
natural' so  to  love  God  in  Christ." 

"  I  will  try,  nay,  it  seems  as  if  I  could,  without 
trying  much !  Good  night,  cousin." 

III.  The.  enmity  of  the  heart. 

The  next  evening  they  met  around  the  old  fire- 
side. The  evening  passed  away  in  cheerful  talk, 
intermingled  with  such  religious  discussion  as  was 
likely  to  rise,  where  nearly  all  were  indifferent  to, 
or  did  not  believe  the  gospel.  The  cousins,  with 
another  sister,  were  left  alone.  She  began  with, 

"  I  find  it  is  not  so  easy  to  love  Christ,  so  warmly, 
after  all.  I  see  he  is  glorious,  but  my  heart  seems 
dead.  Why  don't  I  feel  towards  him  as  towards 
you  and  Helen  ?" 

"  Do  you  remember  my  letter  about  the  enmity 
of  the  natural  heart  against  God  ?"  She  replied 
19* 


222  fe  o  M  E  . 

with  some  tears,  "  yes,  cousin  ;  it  was  the  only  un- 
kind thing  I  ever  received  from  you  !  To  tell  me 
I  hated  God  !  It  made  me  shudder.  I  never  had 
such  a  feeling  in  my  heart  in  my  life.  Helen  and 
I  both  cried  about  it ;  and  mother  was  so  angry, 
she  said  I  shouldn't  answer  it." 

"  You  did,  cousin  !  I  hope  you  did  not  disobey 
your  mother,  in  doing  so." 

"  Oh,  no  ;  but  mother  thought  it  was  just  like 
calling  me  a  heathen,  or  a  great  criminal.  What 
did  you  mean  by  it  ?" 

"  You  said  last  night  it  seemed  very  easy  to  love 
God  in  Christ.  Did  you  pray  to  him,  when  you 
came  home  ?" 

"  Yes,  and  at  first,  it  seemed  delightful ;  but  then, 
in  a  few  moments  he  seemed  to  be  just  as  far  off 
as  the  Invisible  God ;  and  my  heart  would  not  feel 
love.  I  cannot  understand  myself." 

"  Perhaps  I  can  help  you.  Have  you  not  been 
my  companion  from  infancy,  sharing  all  our  joys 
and  sorrows  together  ?  Now  if  you  had  such  want 
of  right  feeling  in  your  heart  towards  me,  as  you 
complain  of  towards  God,  what  would  be  true  of 
you  ?  Could  you  be  said  to  love  me  ?  or  would  it 
be  '  she  hates  him  ?'  "  ':  It  would  not  be  love,  cer- 
tainly." 

"  Has  not  God  been  present  with  you  in  every  mo- 


HOME.  223 

ment,  from  your  birth,  in  all  the  good  of  your  life, 
in  every  breath  ?  Has  he  not  even  revealed  his 
glory,  his  self-denying  love,  in  his  dying  Son,  on 
purpose  to  draw  your  heart  to  him  ?  Does  he  not 
offer  you  infinite  blessings,  through  the  Saviour's 
blood  and  intercession  ?  Now  if  you  do  not  feel  the 
warmest  love  for  him,  what  sort  of  a  heart  have 
you?" 

She  wept  freely,  but  still  urged,  "  I  see  my  heart 
must  be  very  wicked  ;  still  I  never  was  conscious  of 
hating  God,  I  was  always  grateful  to  him,  rever- 
enced him,  and  admired  his  character,  tho'  I  could 
not  feel  personal  affection  for  him." 

"  Do  you  hate  the  emperor  of  China  ?" 

"  What  a  question  !  You  are  making  sport  of 
me,  instead  of  arguing  or  explaining  the  matter." 

"I  never  was  farther  from  mirth  in  my  life,  dear 
cousin.  My  whole  heart  is  full  of  desire  to  save 
your  soul  from  sin.  But  why  do  you  not  hate  the 
Chinese  monarch  ?  He  has  done  neither  good  nor 
evil  to  you  !  He  never  crossed  your  wishes.  God 
has  never  crossed  them.  He  loads  you  with  bless- 
ings. Your  cultivated  mind  sees  his  excellence ; 
but  your  heart  does  not  respond  with  warm  affec- 
tion. This  is  a  bad  beginning.  But  look  further. 
Does  John  Sanders  love  his  mother  ?" 

"  You  are  very  queer  to-night,  cousin !    Why  you 


224  HOME  . 

know  he  kicked  her  out  of  the  house  in  a  drunken 
fit,  only  three  nights  ago." 

"  Yet  he  owes  that  mother  uniform  and  constant 
obedience,  as  her  son.  Is  not  his  unfilial  conduct 
a  proof  of  enmity  ?"  "  It  proves  a  bad  heart,  at 
least."  "  How  much  greater  are  your  obligations 
to  obey  our  heavenly  Father  ?  Yet,  his  very  first 
commandment,  to  love  him,  with  all  your  heart, 
which  is  the  basis  of  every  other,  you  admit  you 
have  not  obeyed.  Besides ;  have  you  ever  tried  to 
obey  him  ?  I  do  not  mean  to  avoid  open  wicked- 
ness ;  but  have  you  tried,  day  by  day,  to  please 
God,  in  all  your  thoughts,  words  and  feelings? 
Have  you  not  studied  far  more  to  please  your  earth- 
ly friends  ?"  There  was  no  answer  but  tears. 
"  Well,  cousin,  you  have  made  your  friends  your 
God,  instead  of  Jehovah  !  It  was  so  once  with  me  ! 
The  human  affections  have  been  nurtured  to  a  sin- 
ful, and  idolatrous  extent.  We  have  made  our  hap- 
piness consist  in  what,  therefore,  was  displeasing  to 
God.  We  have  pleased  ourselves,  instead  of  obey- 
ing him.  Is  not  this  enmity  ?  What  proof  of  en- 
mity can  be  greater  than  constant  disobedience, 
where  perfect  love  and  duty  are  required  ?" 

"But  why  don't  I  feel  conscious  of  enmity,  such 
as  I  feel  towards  men,  sometimes  ?  I  see,  it  must 
be  because  1  do  not  see  God ;  he  is  far  off,  and 


HOME.  225 

is  not  the  immediate  agent  in  ray  hopes  or  disap- 
pointments.   Is  that  the  reason  ?" 

"  Partly.  But  have  you  not  been  really  insensi- 
ble to  the  fact  that  you  were  living  in  such  sinful 
disobedience  ?  And  have  you,  kind  and  gentle  as 
you  are  to  all — have  you  really  disinterested  love 
for  one  human  being  ?  Are  you  willing  to  make 
sacrifices  to  benefit  a  stranger  who  does  not  deserve 
anything  but  censure  and  contempt  ?  Your  look  of 
surprise  at  the  question  answers  for  you.  I  know 
you  will  deny  yourself  for  us,  whom  you  love.  But 
Christ  died  for  his  enemies,  for  those  who  deserved 
no  pity,  no  mercy.  Is  not  your  spirit  therefore 
really  selfish  ?" 

"  My  heart  does  not  say  yes,  cousin,  though  I  can- 
not answer  you.  It  seems  to  rise  in  strong  opposi- 
tion, I  feel,  I  confess,  now,  something  as  mother 
said  she  did,  when  your  letter  came." 

"  That  only  proves  that  it  is  so,  my  dear  cousin. 
Your  sinful  heart  does  not  love  to  come  to  the  light, 
because  it  is  sinful.  When  the  light  shines  on  the 
real  nature  of  your  affections,  the  enmity  begins  to 
come  into  distinct  consciousness.  But  let  us  pray 
together,  cousin.  It  is  time  to  retire,  and  you  know 
I  have  a  long  walk  through  the  woods."  So  they 
parted  for  some  months. 

She  wept  and  prayed,  and,  as  she  said,  tried  to 


love  God.  But  only  became  more  deeply  sensible 
of  her  guilt,  and  full  of  unhappiness  on  account 
of  it 

IV.  The  Mother. 

The  mother  did  not  love  the  gospel.  She  was 
very  kind-hearted.  Agreeable  in  her  manners  and 
conversation,  she  had  deep-rooted  enmity  to  the 
gospel.  When  a  child  died,  who  gave  no  evidence 
of  a  renewed  heart,  she  was  asked  if  the  child — 
who  was  an  adult — became  a  Christian  before 
death  ?  The  answer  was,  "  I  wish  not  to  enter  any 
heaven  where  my  child  is  not."  Maternal  love  was 
very  strong ;  too  strong  for  a  sound  judgment,  even 
had  there  been  right  intellectual  views  of  the  truth. 
Her  love  was  warmly  returned  by  her  children. 
In  everything  that  respected  their  health,  comfort, 
manners,  education  and  social  feelings,  her  sound 
judgment  was  as  manifest  as  her  maternal  love. 
But  what  could  even  a  mother  teach,  without  the 
love  of  Christ  in  her  own  heart  ?  In  the  daugh- 
ter's heart,  the  strongest  influence  that  withheld  her 
from  Christ,  was  love  to  her  mother.  That  mother 
would  be  grieved  to  the  heart ;  nay,  deeply  offend- 
ed ;  perhaps  less  kind.  And  so  the  event  proved. 
But  the  daughter  had  a  thought  still  more  bitter. 
To  become  a  Christian  might  separate  her  from  that 


HOME.  227 

mother  forever.  She  could  not  look  steadily  at  the 
idea  that  the  mother,  so  loved,  might  die  in  sin  and 
perish. 

She  had  almost  wished  to  perish  with  her  moth- 
er !  Experience  had  shown  her  the  error  of  our 
maternal  lesson.  The  daughter  could  not  be- 
lieve in  the  natural  purity  of  her  own  heart.  She 
felt  that  siuful  affections  reigned  there. 

And,  truly,  what  more  striking  proof  of  the 
heart's  alienation  from  God,  is  there,  than  to  see 
thus,  the  best  and  purest  of  our  natural  affections 
becoming  the  means  of  hindering  the  salvation  of 
those  whom  we  best  love. 

The  mother  could  not  be  blind  to  the  change  in 
the  character  of  one  child ;  but  because  another 
died  without  it,  she  would  not  believe  it  was  neces- 
sary to  fit  the  soul  for  heaven.  To  allow  this,  was 
to  admit  that  one  beloved,  idolized  child  had  per- 
ished, and  might  charge  the  loss  of  a  soul  to  a  mo- 
ther's neglect  For  the  mother,  while  she  strove  to 
make  her  children  amiable,  had  not  taught  them 
their  need  of  a  holy  heart,  or  of  faith  in  a  crucified 
Saviour  to  obtain  the  pardon  of  their  sins. 

One  child  cherished  the  mother's  hostility  to  pure 
religion  ;  the  other,  embraced  the  Saviour.  The 
last,  she  knew  was  safe ;  her  heart  determined  to 
believe  the  other  was  so.  The  truth  that  saved  the 


228  H  OME. 

one,  condemned  the  other ;  therefore  she  hated  it. 
Perhaps  her  daughter,  if  not  withdrawn  from  that 
destroying  circle  of  an  impenitent  mother's  love, 
would  have  wept  for  sin,  but  chosen  to  perish  in  it 
Like  an  old  school-mate,  who  told  me  once,  he 
would  rather  go  to  hell  with  his  father,  than  be 
saved  without  him.  If  anything  was  needed  to 
show  that  the  merely  human  affections  do  not  con- 
stitute piety,  such  examples  would  be  enough. 
The  mere  excess  of  right  emotions  does  not  change 
their  nature ;  nor  would  it  embitter  the  heart 
against  the  gospel. 

These  natural  affections  are  amiable  with  or  with- 
out religion.  When  purified  by  the  controlling 
power  of  holy  love,  they  become  far  more  winning 
than  they  were  before.  But  they  do  not  enter  into 
the  essence  of  holiness. 

There  was  a  mother,  once,  so  tried  as  never  mo- 
ther was  before,''  or  will  be  again.  The  holiest, 
wisest,  most  gifted,  most  affectionate  son  a  mother 
ever  loved,  hung  bleeding,  and  filled  with  the  an- 
guish of  the  cross,  before  her  eyes.  She  wept ;  but 
she  worshipped.  She  had  "  hid  in  her  heart "  the 
words  that  taught  the  meaning  of  his  sufferings. 
She  wept,  but  with  all  a  mother's  intense  love  in 
her  heart,  she  would  not  take  him  from  the  cross ! 
He  was  a  world's  Redeemer.  Loving  him,  as  he 


HOME.  229 

was  worthy  to  be  loved,  she  subdued  her  anguish, 
because  he  bade  her.  He  was  her  son,  no  more  ; 
but  he  was  her  Saviour.  They  do  not  seem  to  have 
met  after  the  resurrection.  So  should  a  mother's 
love  ever  be  controlled  by  the  love  of  Christ ;  by 
the  higher  principles  of  duty  to  God  and  man. 
Then  its  beauty  shines  forth  in  perfect  lustre. 

V.  The  Holy  Family. 

There  are  households  which  one  can  hardly  en- 
ter without  feeling  the  presence  of  God.  It  is  not 
so  much  on  account  of  what  is  said,  or  even  what 
is  done  ;  but  because  everything  is  habitually  said 
and  done  with  a  reference  to  the  will  of  God.  In 
one  such  family,  once  among  the  children  of  Home, 
but  now  residing  in  another  place,  every  person  who 
has  been  a  member  of  it  for  any  considerable  peri- 
od, for  twenty  years  past,  has  become  a  child  of 
God ;  and  the  number  has  been  large. 

The  cousins  next  met  in  that  family  circle.  She 
had  been  invited  there,  to  pass  a  season,  not  with- 
out some  reference  to  her  spiritual  benefit.  But 
her  health  was  impaired  by  "toil  and  study,  and  the 
labors  of  a  school.  The  seeds  of  consumption  were 
sown,  though  no  one  then  thought  of  it. 

The  first  hour  was  spent  in  comparing  views  of 
what  was  passing  around  her. 
20 


"  Here  is  wealth,"  he  said,  "  riches  in  abundance, 
and  wealth  without  covetousness." 

"  Yes  ;  and  it  seems  to  be  used  as  if  it  all  be- 
longed, not  to  them,  but  to  God ;  and  as  if  all  they 
had  to  do  with  it  was  to  see  it  spent  to  please  him, 
and  benefit  their  fellow-men.  I  never  knew  any- 
thing like  it  before." 

"  Here  is  refinement,  too,  in  social  life." 

"  It  is  so ;  and  yet  there  is  something  more  about 
it  that  I  can  hardly  describe.  Every  one  seems  to 
be  so  gentle ;  yet  they  are  as  firm  as  a  rock,  in 
what  is  right.  Their  refinement  seems  to  me  to  re- 
sult from  the  feelings  of  their  hearts ;  or,  I  should 
say,  from  trying  to  imitate  Christ." 

"  They  are  certainly  very  amiable." 

"  Some  of  them,  they  tell  me,  cousin,  were  not 
so,  naturally.  And  there  is  J.,  as  amiable  a  person 
as  I  ever  saw  ;  but  she  does  not  seem  to  be  govern- 
ed by  the  same  feelings  as  the  rest.  Somehow,  her 
amiability  seems  to  be  of  a  lower  grade  than  theirs. 
It  has  no  principle  in  it  Her  manners  are  pleas- 
ing, because  she  wishes  to  please.  With  the  oth- 
ers, it  is  because  they  seek  to  do  good,  and  to  win 
others  to  Christ.  Her  temper  was  naturally  gentle 
and  social ;  but  not  more  so  than  P's.  Yet  he  seems 
to  be  far  purer  in  heart.  He  seems  to  have  God 
always  before  him." 


"  Is  he  always  serious  and  sedate  ?" 

"  Oh  no  ;  sometimes  he  is  very  merry,  and  full  of 
wit  and  humor.  But  he  makes  it  his  rule  never  to 
allow  himself  to  get  into  a  state  of  mind  that  unfits 
him  for  prayer ;  that  is,  for  the  immediate  presence 
of  God." 

*  Is  the  family  a  reading  and  intelligent  one  ?" 

^None  more  so.  Elegant  literature  is  not  for- 
gotten. Look  around  you,  at  those  piles  of  books, 
charts,  pictures,  music — they  all  love  music — you 
see  here  proofs  of  both  intelligence  and  social  en- 
joyment. 

M  Then,  too,  there  is  the  same  cheerfulness  both 
in  sickness  and  health  ;  though  I  never  saw  a  more 
tenderly  attached  circle.  They  pray,  when  others 
would  weep.  That  seems  to  make  them  happy  in 
the  sorest  trial." 

"  Are  they  fond  of  society  ?" 

".Very.  Some  of  them  are  the  ornaments  of  the 
social  circle.  But  then  Christ  seems  never  absent 
from  their  minds.  It  is  not  because  they  are  al- 
ways talking  of  religion.  Far  from  it.  But  all  they 
do  say  of  it  seems  to  flow  naturally  out  of  the  heart, 
as  if  it  was  both  perfectly  familiar  and  habitually 
loved.  There  are  no  set  speeches  about  it.  It  is  all 
natural.  No  one  of  them  has  ever  took  me  aside  to 
talk,  in  form,  respecting  my  soul.  Yet  they  all 


232  HOME. 

seemed  to  know  just  what  I  wanted,  and  when  1 
needed  a  word  in  season.  Oh,  'tis  such  a  heaven 
to  live  in  such  a  family !" 

"  And  does  your  own  heart  fully  respond  to  the 
lessons  of  such  a  life  ?" 

"  Yes,  my  Saviour  has  revealed  his  love  to  me  ; 
and  I  trust  is  formed  in  me,  the  hope  of  glory.  If  I 
could  always  live,  it  seems  to  me  I  should  grow 
fast  in  knowledge  and  holiness.  But  I  must  return 
home  the  next  month." 

The  holy  living  had  been  a  teacher  that  dispersed 
all  the  clouds  of  sin  and  error. 

Here  was  a  piety  that  manifestly  was  something 
more  than  the  best  display  of  the  natural  sympa- 
thies of  the  human  heart.  These  were  seen — seen 
exalted,  purified,  and  controlled  by  holy  love.  It 
was  the  aim  of  each  to  be  like  Christ.  That  se- 
cured excellence  in  everything.  All  knowledge, 
every  wish,  every  thought  was  controlled  with  ha- 
bitual reference  to  the  mind  of  Christ.  Trained 
awhile  in  such  a  school,  she  returned  again  to  the 
paternal  roof;  returned,  alas,  to  die. 

VI.  She  sleeps. 

Yet  two  years  passed  away,  before  the  Lord  call- 
ed her.  Two  years  of  pain — of  constant  suffering. 
Two  years  of  gentleness,  like  that  of  a  dove ;  of 


HOME.  233 

meekness,  like  that  of  Moses;  of  patience  that 
seemed  drawn  from  the  very  fountain  of  divine 
love.  There  was  no  eager  display  of  zeal.  It  was 
clothed  with  humility.  It  patiently  waited  the  fit 
occasion  to  warn  the  sinner.  But  who,  of  all  that 
knew  the  sweet  sufferer,  was  not  faithfully  warned, 
and  pointed  to  the  Lamb  of  God  ?  There  were  bit- 
ter foes  of  the  gospel  about  her ;  they  were  some- 
times unkind.  But,  like  her  Lord,  she  opened  not 
her  mouth  in  reproaches.  Her  voice  was,  "  Father, 
forgive  them !"  If  there  was  one  thought  of  pain, 
as  to  her  future,  it  was,  not  of  dying,  but  of  having 
lived  uselessly.  Fear  not,  blessed  saint !  There  is 
not  one  of  all  that  saw  thy  holy  dying,  but  feels  the 
need  vfhoty  living,  to  be  prepared  for  a  place  so 
holy  as  that  where  thou  now  dwellest ! 

Bed  of  death  ?  It  was  the  couch  of  state,  the 
scene  of  glorious  triumph.  It  was  only  one  of 
Heaven's  opened  doors,  to  let  in  a  spirit  already 
washed,  and  made  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 

Shall  we  weep,  because  the  beloved  companion 
from  infancy  was  glorified  with  the  glory  Christ 
had  prepared  for  her,  and  so  well  prepared  her  to 
receive  ? 

Awhile  she  seemed  to  sleep  ;  her  eyelids  closed ; 
there  was  no  motion ;  but  now  and  then  a  smile  of 
20* 


234  HOME. 

more  than  earthly  beauty  passed  over  the  features 
as  she  left  this  sorrowing  world. 

We  cannot  always,  or  often,  form  any  correct 
judgment  of  the  character  by  the  scenes  of  the  sick 
bed,  or  the  death  struggle.  Medicine  often  gives  a 
quiet  that  is  mistaken  for  the  peace  of  God.  Of- 
tener  still  the  feebleness  of  disease  makes  the  mind 
calm,  because  it  is  not  capable  of  thought  or  emo- 
tion. And  this  is  called  resignation !  But  some- 
times heaven  is  so  clearly  opened  to  the  vision  of 
the  living,  that  it  brings  the  celestial  city  very  near 
indeed. 

I  care  little  how  I  die,  if  I  may  have  the  love  of 
Christ  in  my  heart,  while  living  and  capable  of  se- 
curing him.  A  death.«ven  of  joy  is  no  proof  of  the 
salvation  of  the  soul,  on  which  we  can  rely,  unless 
the  holy  life  has  shown  the  dying  one's  hopes  to  be 
founded  on  the  Rock  of  Ages.  Nay,  I  believe  God 
so  orders  it,  in  his  Providence,  that  most  of  those 
who  perish,  shall  die  with  little  suffering.  He  does 
it  in  pity  to  the  survivors,  that  the  anguish  of  their 
spirits  may  not  be  too  great  to  bear.  Who  could 
endure,  every  time  a  sinner  dies  in  his  sins,  to  see 
hell  as  visibly  opened,  as  heaven  sometimes  is 
when  the  souls  of  God's  holy  ones  are  called  to  his 
presence  ?  To  hear  the  first  wail  of  anguish,  as  we 
hear  the  first  note  of  the  songs  of  heaven  ?  So  we 


HOME.  335 

are  bidden  to  "  live  unto  the  Lord,"  and  then  we 
know  we  shall  die  unto  him,  and  be  glorified  to- 
gether with  him.  But  if  we  live  unto  ourselves, 
our  death  will  not  open  heaven  to  us,  though  it  may 
seem  to  be  peaceful,  or. even  joyful.  'Be  not  de- 
ceived !  God  is  not  mocked.  What  a'man  soweth, 
that  shall  he  also  reap." 


23G  HOME. 

CHAPTER   XV. 

Diversities  of  character — Causes — Natural  gifts  differ — 
Feelings  vary — Education — Preaching — The  metaphy- 
sicians— Course  of  Providence ;  Facts — Diversities  of  be- 
lief. Illustrations — Sources  of  error — All  truths  saving 
— "  The  same  Spirit" — Oar  Home  above. 

THOSE  who  wish  to  excuse  their  own  departure 
from,  or  indifference  to  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  of- 
ten say:  "That "we  can  no  more  expect  men  to 
think  and  feel  alike,  than  we  can  expect  them  to 
look  alike."  There  is  both  truth  and  error  in  the 
remark ;  a  great  error,  and  a  most  important  truth. 

Except  in  a  few  cases  of  unnatural  deformity,  the 
essential  features  of  every  man  are  the  same.  The 
essential  elements  of  a  holy  character  must  be  the 
same,  in  all  who  have  holy  hearts.  The  facts,  or 
truths  respecting  God,  man,  redemption  and  eterni- 
ty, cannot  possibly  vary  with  all  men's  various  and 
ever  changing  views  respecting  them. 

Still,  there  is  a  most  wonderful  diversity  of  cha- 
racter and  experience,  among  those  who  are  real 
Christians,  who  do  show  that  they  are  governed  by 
holy  love  to  God  and  man.  And  to  trace  the  causes 


HOME.  237 

and  results  of  this  diversity,  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant and  useful  of  all  studies,  to  the  practical 
Christian.  It  requires  volumes,  instead  of  a  chapter. 
But  the  lessons  of  life  in  Home  would  be  incom- 
plete, without  some  hints  on  the  subject 

A  large  number  of  Christians  are  very  ill  quali- 
fied to  analyze,  or  describe  the  emotions  of  their 
own  hearts  at  the  time  of  their  conversion.  They 
are  too  excited,  too  confused.  There  is  a  rush  of 
new  and  strange  emotions,  no  one  of  which  is  dis- 
tinct enough  for  description.  They  are  not  used  to 
observing  such  things  in  themselves  or  others.  And 
very  few  men  can  easily  tell  even  what  they  do 
know,  with  entire  accuracy.  With  such  persons, 
everything  they  can  recall,  connected  in  any  way 
with  their  experience,  becomes  a  part  of  it.  One 
dream  is  given  by  the  Holy  Spirit ;  the  trance  'which 
can  as  easily  be  produced  by  other  means,  as  by 
religious  influences,  becomes  an  opening  of  heaven 
to  their  view.  So  they  think ;  and  it  is  in  vain  to 
argue  them  out  of  it  This  is  the  source  of  many 
an  error,  many  a  fond  delusion.  Men  will  not  part 
with  that  which  seems  to  be  so  inwrought  into  their 
experiences,  and  so  connected  with  their  hopes  of 
heaven.  Hence  the  immense  value  of  minute  state- 
ments of  all  the  varied  experiences  of  the  Christian, 
evil  as  well  as  good.  It  would  be  found  that  most 


338  HOME. 

of  the  controversies  among  true  Christians,  respect- 
ing the  elements  of  a  holy  life  and  character,  grow 
out  of  this  variety  in  their  several  experiences. 

I  listened  once  to  a  very  minute  narrative  of  the 
conversion  of  more  than  one  hundred  educated 
men,  given  in  successive  weeks,  for  the  very  pur- 
pose of  mutual  instruction.  The  variety  was  won- 
derful. There  were  only  six,  whose  experience 
was  much  alike,  either  in  respect  to  the  causes  or 
the  details  of  the  change  God  had  wrought  in  them. 
Minute  acquaintance  with  many  more  cases,  has 
only  increased  my  knowledge  of  these  diversities. 

The  causes  of  them  were  many. 

(1)  Differences  of  intellectual  powers.  The  rea- 
soning intellect,  delighting  to  trace  effects  to  causes, 
and  follow  the  cause  in  its  results,  generally  con- 
nected its  experience  with  some  of  the  higher  prin- 
ciples of  the  divine  government.  It  would  be  in 
vain  to  reason  against  the  sovereignty  of  God,  with 
a  mind  of  this  class,  into  whose  every  thought  and 
feeling,  the  truths  designated  by  that  term  had  be- 
come incorporated,  not  only  by  an  intellectual  per- 
ception of  their  divine  harmony,  but  by  their  power 
in  purifying  the  soul  from  sin.  Equally  vain  the 
efforts  to  make  such  doctrines  valuable  to  minds 
not  so  constituted  will  generally  prove. 

The  class  of  minds  that  reasoned  most  from  effects 


HOME.  239 

to  causes,  habitually  traced  all  events  in  life  and  na- 
ture, to  God.  His  will,  his  hand,  was  seen  in  every- 
thing, good  and  evil,  and  devoutly  recognized  with 
an  humble,  submissive  spirit 

Minds  that  commonly  reasoned  from  causes  to 
effects,  were  more  employed  in  tracing  the  harmo- 
ny of  the  principles  of  God's  government,  especially 
if  their  powers  of  analysis  were  connected  with  the 
power  of  comparing  with  accuracy,  the  results  of 
their  researches.  With  them,  the  reception  of  the 
truth  did  not  result  from  submission  to  divine  teach- 
ing, so  much  as  from  a  perception  that  that  teach- 
ing was  reasonable,  and  in  keeping  with  all  known 
truths. 

The  poetic  mind  almost  always  was  most  im- 
pressed with  the  atonement;  the  glory  of  the  re- 
vealed Godhead ;  with  the  majesty  of  the  cross ; 
the  resurrection  and  mediation  and  reign  of  the 
Redeemer  glorified ;  and  with  other  themes  that  ap- 
pealed to  the  mind's  perception  of  sublimity,  beau- 
ty and  perfection. 

(2)  There  were  still  more  diversities  from  natural 
feelings  and  sentiments. 

A  naturally  conscientious  mind  was  impressed 
with  the  obligations  of  the  Law  of  God.  Justice, 
right  and  duty,  as  violated  by  a  life  of  disobedience, 
humbled  the  soul. 


240  HOME. 

A  proud  mind,  or  one,  more  correctly  speaking, 
naturally  respecting  itself  highly,  was  most  impress- 
ed with  the  meanness,  and  loathsome  turpitude  of 
sin. 

One  in  whom  the  love  of  the  favor  of  others  was 
the  ruling  element,  was  most  solicitous  to  please 
God,  and  to  be  the  object  of  his  smile  of  favor. 
That  feeling  drew  him  from  the  paths  of  sin. 

The  naturally  generous  and  self-sacrificing  were 
won  sometimes  by  the  benevolence  of  the  gospel. 
It  was  so  noble  to  give  up  all  for  Christ,  that  they 
could  not  refrain  from  doing  it.  The  naturally  tim- 
id, shrinking  from  pain  and  suffering,  were  often 
awakened  by  simple  fear  of  divine  wrath  against 
sin.  The  judgments  of  God  led  them  to  learn  righ- 
teousness. 

A  mind  to  which  mathematics  seemed  to  be  the 
very  aliment  of  life,  was  awakened  by  the  effects  of 
the  investigations  of  La  Place  on  his  mind,  in  de- 
monstrating the  wisdom  of  God,  and  his  universal 
agency. 

Others,  whose  affections  were  very  strong,  were 
awakened  by  the  influence  of  love  for  a  mother,  wife, 
or  other  beloved  friends.  To  please  them,  they  first 
sought  to  please  God,  by  doing  his  will.  In  short, 
there  was  hardly  any  one  power  of  the  mental,  so- 
cial and  moral  constitution  of  man,  that  did  not  be- 


HOME.  241 

come  the  agent  in  the  conversion  of  the  soul  to 
God ;  and  so  distinctly,  that  the  convert  could  not 
relate  his  history,  without  showing  it  to  all. 

(3)  The  various  education  persons  receive,  gives 
still  other  varieties.     This,  however,  tends  greatly 
to  make  the  diversities  that  result  from  natural  cha- 
racter less  striking,  though  not  always.     Sometimes 
the  bent  of  the  mind  in  one  direction  is  so  strong, 
that  it  has  the  power  of  assimilation  ;  it  converts  to 
its  own  uses  all  the  efforts  made  to  impart  know- 
ledge, or   to    elicit   other   mental    powers  and  re- 
sources.    It  was  seen,  however,  that  the  well  edu- 
cated mind,  generally,  had  a  higher  regard  for  the 
truths  of  religion ;  the   uneducated,  for  the  feelings 
it  inspires.    With  the  first,  to  be  right  was  the  prime 
object ;  with  the  last,  it  was  to  feel  deeply  whatever 
was  believed. 

(4)  The  character  of  the  preaching  to  which  they 
had  been  accustomed,  had  a  marked  effect.    If  it 
was  didactic  reasoning,  their  minds  had  the  same 
tendency.    If  it  was  poetic,  the  beauty  of  religion 
inflamed  them.     If  it  dealt  more  with   the  various 
emotions  of  the  sinful  or  holy  heart,  so  their  re- 
ligion became  more  decidedly  that  of  experience, 
rather  than  thought  or  action.     When  the  character 
of  the  preaching  corresponded  with  the  natural  ten- 
dencies of  the  individual  mind,  the  result  was  very 


marked  and  beneficial — though  not  always.  One 
very  acute  metaphysical  mind,  trained  by  a  pastor 
of  the  same  mental  chai'acter,  had  become  a  sort  of 
metaphysical  monomaniac!  It  analyzed  its  emo- 
tions and  principles,  till  they  lost  half  their  legiti- 
mate power  over  the  soul.  I  believe  the  lessons  of 
affliction  have  since  corrected  that  tendency  ;  for  he 
is  now  a  veiy  practical  man.  In  another  instance, 
the  same  cause,  acting  on  a  mind  so  constituted, 
appears  to  have  kept  the  sinner  from  God.  His 
whole  mental  energy  was  absorbed  in  the  philoso- 
phy of  truth,  till  it  lost  all  power  to  subdue  the 
heart!  I  never  knew  so  accurate  a  judge  of  what 
was  exactly  true,  as  that  sinner !  But  a  long  life  of 
sin,  under  the  constant,  nay,  eager  attendance  on  all 
the  means  of  grace,  proved  that  the  truth  failed  to 
reach  his  heart. 

(5)  The  course  of  Providence  with  individuals, 
was  equally  marked  in  their  conversion. 

Gratitude  for  prosperity  subdued  one.  The  loss 
of  a  tenderly  loved  relative  broke  the  heart  of  an- 
other, and  he  sought  consolation  in  ChVist.  Yet 
the  conversions  that  resulted  from  sanctified  afflic- 
tion, or  fear,  were  very  few. 

There  were  striking  instances  of  this.  One,  on 
a  bed  of  sickness,  when  friends  and  physicians  had 
bid  him  prepare  for  a  speedy  exchange  of  worlds, 


HOME.  243 

vowed  to  God  that  he  would  serve  him,  if  life 
should  be  spared.  Life  was  granted  ;  and  for  a 
brief  space  the  vow  was  redeemed,  in  form ;  while 
the  impulse  of  gratitude  lasted.  But  the  heart  was 
not  subdued  ;  and  long  years  of  folly  and  sin  were 
passed  before  some  other  influence  brought  the  sin- 
ner to  the  cross. 

Another,  when  the  cholera  raged  around,  was 
filled  with  fears  of  death.  For  a  year  or  two, 
there  was  prayer,  devotion,  and  all  the  outward 
marks  of  a  religious  life.  But  years  of  worldly  and 
selfish  living  followed,  when  the  pestilence  ceased 
to  walk  in  darkness,  or  waste  the  powers  of  life  at 
noon-day. 

A  BOH,  carefully  trained  to  believe  and  reverence 
the  truths  and  precepts  of  the  Bible,  came  to  me 
once  to  ask  guidance  to  the  cross.  Thrown  into 
the  whirl  of  the  city,  surrounded  by  those  who 
neither  loved  nor  respected  the  truth,  the  effects  of 
their  mockeries  on  his  own  mind,  in  lessening  his 
own  reverence  for  sacred  things,  alarmed  him.  He 
said  he  felt  he  must  become  a  child  of  God,  or  he 
should  lose  all  respect  for  what  his  education  and 
his  judgment  both  led  him  to  regard  as  the  truth  of 
God.  So  he  wisely  decided  to  make  Christ  his 
friend. 

Another  had  long  been  engaged  in  the  rum  traf- 


244  HOME. 

fie.  His  shop  bad  been  a  perfect  curse  to  a  whole 
neighborhood  of  Home.  Sickness  came ;  and 
while  on  his  bed  some  facts  occurred  that  illustrated 
the  horrible  results  of  his  own  business  in  such  a 
way  that  he  could  not  close  his  eyes  to  it.  Remorse 
seized  upon  him  ;  and  a  desire  to  repair  the  evils 
he  had  done  in  his  selfish  pursuit  of  gain,  led  him 
to  consecrate  himself  and  all  his  to  the  Lord. 

(6)  Diversities  of  religious  belief  had  the  same 
marked  effect.  There  seemed  to  be  no  one  idea  of 
the  whole  circle  of  truth  which  was  not  employed 
to  convert  the  soul ;  no  idea,  the  intellectual  rejection 
of  which  prevented  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  using  what  truth  was  embraced,  for  the  salvation 
of  the  soul.  A  Deist,  who  utterly  rejected  Divine 
revelation,  was  awakened  by  reflections  on  the 
goodness  of  God.  He  often  meditated  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  supposed  he  loved  the  God  of  nature. 
One  day  the  contrast  between  the  Divine  benevo- 
lence, as  shown  in  hundreds  of  instances,  where 
the  mere  wish  to  confer  happiness  must  have  been 
the  sole  motive  for  providing  for  it,  and  his  own 
selfish  character,  struck  him  with  such  power,  that 
he  fell  on  his  knees  and  cried  aloud  for  mercy. 
Trained  up  to  despise  a  Bible  he  had  never  cared 
to  examine,  it  was  only  when  many  struggles  with  his 
sinful  heart  taught  him  the  need  of  a  guide,  that  he 


HOME.  245 

sought  ibr  a  Testament,  and  lor  the  first  time,  learn- 
ed more  of  the  character  and  mission  of  Christ, 
than  could  be  learned  from  profane  curses. 

In  another,  clear  views  of  the  Divine  Gov- 
ernment, led  to  cordial,  joyful  submission  and  hum- 
ble obedience,  without  the  least  mental  reference  to 
a  Saviour,  or  even  much  thought  whether  pardon 
was  received  or  needed  at  all.  The  sense  of  guilt 
had  been  very  acute ;  the  submission  to  justice  was 
cordial ;  and  the  spirit  of  filial  love  and  obedience 
rilled  the  heart,  for  weeks  before  the  Saviour  was 
revealed  in  his  glory.  These  cases  settled  in  my 
mind  the  practicability  of  a  heathen's  conversion, 
by  the  principles  of  natural  religion,  without  the 
gospel,  "  so  that  they  are  without  excuse."  In  all 
the  after  life  of  this  able  man,  in  his  preaching  he 
perpetually  enforced  submission  as  the  first  duty, 
and  as  the  mode  of  entering  on  the  life  of  faith. 
It  was  a  serious  hindrance  to  the  usefulness  of  one 
of  the  best  men  I  ever  knew.  For  twenty  years  he 
had  preached  with  great  ability,  and  lived  a  life  of 
prayer.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  he  told  me,  that 
while  his  preaching  had  comforted  and  edified 
many  in  the  church  of  God,  he  knew  not  that  he 
had  ever  directly  won  one  soul  to  Christ !  His  at- 
tention was  pointed  to  this  leading  practical  error 
in  his  preaching,  and  to  the  vast  diversities  in  the 
21* 


246 


HOME. 


mode  of  commencing  a  religious  life.  His  meth- 
ods of  instruction  were  varied,  while  the  same 
clearness  in  enforcing  the  truths  of  the  gospel  re- 
mained. His  harvests  of  souls  have  since  that  time 
been  constant  and  great. 

One  who  intellectually  rejected  the  Deity  and 
atonement  of  Christ,  was  led  by  the  Spirit  to  see 
her  sins,  and  her  need  of  mercy.  It  was  only  in 
the  progress  of  holy  affections  that  Christ  became 
her  "  Lord  and  her  God." 

He  who  had  been  trained  to  view  the  doctrine  of 
election — an  election  not  based  on  the  foreseen  con- 
version of  the  man — as  abhorrent  to  every  princi- 
ple of  equity,  was  won  to  Christ,  by  the  perception 
of  the  grace  that  sought  him,  and  brought  him  to 
Christ,  while  he  had  chosen  the  path  of  death.  He 
wondered  why  he  was  taken,  and  not  another  !  So 
the  very  principle  he  rejected,  brought  forth  its 
appropriate  fruits  of  humility  and  gratitude  in  his 
heart,  through  the  grace  of  the  Spirit  So  with  all 
truths.  Each  has  sanctifying  power ;  and  is  a  sword 
of  the  Spirit  to  slay  those  forms  of  sin  that  rule  the 
heart  So  that  the  little  child  whose  tender  mind 
can  grasp  but  one  truth,  in  its  simplest  form,  may 
be  saved  by  it.  The  feeble  minded  who  lack  the 
capacity  to  discern  many  truths,  may  be  purified  by 
what  their  vision  sees.  The  worldly  lover  of  gold, 


HOME.  247 

who  made  it  his  god,  dreamed  that  he  was  stagger- 
ing along,  almost  crushed  by  the  weight  of  his 
heaped  coffers.  The  Saviour— just  as  his  mind, 
ruled  by  the  outward  senses,  had  seen  him  painted 
in  the  Cathedral  of  Baltimore — seemed  to  pass  by, 
and  in  pity  relieve  him  of  the  burden  that  was 
crushing  out  his  life  ;  and  he  woke  to  give  his  gold, 
himself  and  his  all  to  that  Saviour.  Baptized  with 
his  Spirit,  his  gold  is  no  longer  a  curse,  but  the 
means  of  a  blessing  to  many.  It  was  the  idea  of 
the  vanity  of  worldly  treasures  to  confer  happiness, 
that  broke  up  the  selfish  slumbers  of  his  frozen 
heart.  It  is  in  vain  to  say  that  no  one  can  become 
a  Christian  who  has  been  educated,  or  otherwise 
led,  intellectually  to  reject  any  particular  truth,  how- 
ever important  that  may  be.  It  is  not  so.  If  that 
rejection  be  toilful,  after  the  mind  clearly  sees  that  the 
doctrine  is  true,  the  rejection  of  it  will,  no  doubt,  de- 
stroy the  soul.  So  it  would  if  the  doctrine  or  pre- 
cept were,  relatively,  of  less  importance.  The  de- 
liberate rejection  of  any  truth  or  duty,  is  a  rejection 
of  the  rightful  authority  of  the  Divine  teacher  and 
Law-giver.  But  such  wilful  sin  is  probably  not 
very  common.  It  is  most  frequently  committed, 
not  where  errors  in  doctrine  are  taught,  but  where 
men  enjoy  the  clear  light  of  the  gospel.  Then  we 
often  see  a  bitter  rejection  of  some  single  truth  or 


248  HOME. 

duty,  followed  by  blindness  of  mind,  hardness  of 
heart,  and  a  death  of  shame. 

The  source  of  error,  and  of  much  inefficient 
preaching  may  be  seen  by  an  anecdote.  A  young 
man,  just  from  a  Seminary,  wrote  out,  in  a  little 
different  form,  all  the  lectures  of  his  theological 
instructors,  and  preached  them  to  his  people,  in  the 
first  years  of  his  ministry.  It  is  hardly  necessary 
to  say,  not  a  soul  was  converted.  Did  he  not 
preach  the  truth  ?  Yes.  The  whole  truth  ?  Al- 
most! Was  it  not  philosophically  arranged,  so 
that  the  harmony  of  every  part  of  the  system 
could  be  seen  ?  No  doubt.  Even  the  "  order  of 
nature  in  the  affections  of  the  heart"  was  demon- 
strated with  admirable  logic  and  precision.  But 
the  mode  of  instruction  in  which  the  great  intellect 
taught  him  the  harmony  and  theory  of  truth,  was 
not  that  which  fitted  it  to  reach  the  consciences, 
wants,  feelings  and  sympathies  of  men.  People 
said  he  was  a  '  great  preacher,'  but  many  of  his 
most  important  doctrines  were  rejected,  in  spite  of 
the  irrefutable  logic  that  sustained  them.  Probably, 

few  rninds,  in  some  churches,  might  have  been 
savingly  benefited  by  just  such  preaching.  But, 
as  a  Christian,  the  preacher  did  not  believe  his  own 
doctrines,  in  the  forms  in  which  he  had  been 
preaching  them.  Those  forms  had  relation  to  the 


249 


logical  intellect ;  none  to  the  emotions  of  the  heart. 
When  he  philosophized,  correctly  enough,  on  the 
fact  that  love  was  the  element  of  all  right  affections, 
and  therefore,  in  the  order  of  nature  the  first  holy 
emotion  produced  by  the  Spirit,  he  could  not  help 
remembering  that  he  had  been  first  conscious  of 
penitence  for  sin,  of  submission,  of  hopes  of  mercy. 
When  he  told  the  fact  that  no  man  could  be  justi- 
fied, or  forgiven,  without  an  atonement,  and  that 
pardon  was  granted  to  believers  alone,  he  forgot 
that  he  had  found  peace  and  joy  in  God,  while,  in- 
tellectually, he  had  rejected  the  idea  of  an  atoning 
Saviour.  So,  led  by  chances,  beyond  his  control, 
he  began  to  preach  the  same  truths  as  they  lay  in 
his  own  heart,  connected  with  his  and  other  men's 
experience  as  saints  and  sinners.  Now  the  power 
of  the  Spirit  was  revealed,  and  the  truth  made 
many  wise  unto  salvation. 

What  is  the  error  ?  It  is  this.  Men  mistake 
a  logical  necessity  for  an  actual  need.  In  logic,  every 
truth  is  harmonized  with,  and  flows  certainly  from 
every  other  truth.  All  reasonings  of  truth  are  rea- 
sonings in  a  circle.  For  every  truth  may  be  as- 
sumed, in  turn,  as  a  postulate,  and  every  other 
drawn  from  it  by  a  logic  nothing  can  shake.  But 
few  men  are  logicians !  You  logically  infer  that 
a  man  cannot  reject  one  truth  of  the  circle,  without 


250 


rejecting  other,  and  essential  ideas,  with  which,  in 
express  terms,  the  Bible  connects  salvation  from 
ein  and  woe.  But  many  a  man  is  conscious  of  holy 
affections,  who  does  not  believe  some  portions  of 
this  great  circle  of  truth.  His  heart  is  pained.  He 
deems  you  a  bigot.  Brotherly  love  ceases.  Sects 
are  formed,  among  those  who  really  love  the  same 
holiness.  Worse  still.  The  true  disciple  becomes 
embitterred  against  some  valuable  truths  in  the 
divine  circle  of  light,  and  he  loses  its  sanctifying 
power,  which  was  intended  to  complete  the  harmo- 
ny of  his  own  Christian  character.  Besides;  a 
large  class  of  divine  truths  seldom  have  any  direct 
relation  to  the  first  experience  of  the  awakened 
sinner,  and  the  convert  They,  too,  by  such  preach- 
ing, become  hostile  to  truths  needful  to  them  in 
some  other  stage  of  their  progress. 

It  makes  no  great  difference  what  particular  truth 
is  first  impressed  on  a  sinner's  mind.  If  his  carnal 
heart  is  roused,  he  will  quarrel  with  one  as  readily 
as  with  another.  The  doctrine  he  quarrels  with 
must  be  pressed  upon  his  heart  till  he  feels  its  sub- 
duing power.  Some  think  that  this  or  that  doctrine 
is  peculiarly  offensive  to  the  corrupt  heart  Not 
so  !  The  doctrine  that  happens  to  disturb  a  man 
in  his  sins,  or  that,  which  by  the  habits  of  his  mind 
or  education,  is  best  fitted  to  teach  him  the  real 


HOME.  251 

nature  of  his  sinful  affections,  that  becomes  the 
cross  to  him.  To  receive  that,  be  it  what  it  may, 
involves  a  heart  of  submission  to  the  divine  au- 
thority. If  the  Spirit  of  holy  love  once  enters  the 
heart,  its  reign,  if  not  prevented,  will  in  time  con- 
trol the  whole  intellect,  as  well  as  eveiy  feeling. 
"  There  are  diversities  of  operations,  but  the  same 
Spirit." 

The  diversities  of  religious  character  formed  are 
as  great  as  the  causes  that  enter  into  their  forma- 
tion are  numerous. 

One  knows  more  truth  than  another.  His  holy 
character  is  more  matured.  The  mental  peculiari- 
ties of  another  are  seen  in  the  fullest  development 
of  some  graces  of  the  Spirit,  while  others,  though 
not  wholly  wanting,  are  seldom  seen.  One  is  more 
humble  and  submissive  ;  another  more  zealous  and 
joyous  in  hope.  Meekness  shines  in  one,  holy 
boldness  in  his  brother.  The  reception  of  some 
truths  gives  greater  stability  of  character  than  most 
who  reject  them  possess.  In  one,  deep  and  joyous 
emotions  are  deemed  the  evidences  of  sanctification. 
In  another,  the  habitual  conformity  of  the  thoughts 
and  wishes  to  the  commandments  of  God  is  deemed 
the  sure  proof  of  holiness.  Both  are  so,  sometimes. 
Some  characters  unite  both ;  more  separate  them 
or  give  to  one  more  preeminence,  than  is  given  to 


252  HOME. 

it  by  others  equally  the  followers  of  God  as  dear 
children. 

Thus,  the  causes  that  diversify  the  religious 
character  at  its  commencement,  continue  to  act 
throughout  the  entire  life  of  the  Christian.  The 
love  of  God  is  in  his  heart.  He  will  be  saved.  If 
his  mind  was  equally  fitted  to  be  benefited  by  every 
revealed  truth,  he  would  be  a  more  perfect  man.  a 
more  perfect  Christian.  If  he  believed  and  loved 
the  entire  circle  of  divine  truths,  it  would  make  his 
character  complete,  perfect.  And,  with  all  the 
hindrances  he  finds  wjthin  and  without,  if  he  is 
truly  taught  of  God,  he  will,  in  the  end,  reach  such 
perfection.  Where  there  is  filial  love  in  the  heart ; 
a  sense  of  guilt,  and  of  the  need  of  free  grace  ;  and 
a  teachable  temper,  let  us  never  despair  of  seeing 
the  child  become  a  man.  The  Spirit  is  his  teacher. 
"  He  giveth  to  every  man,  severally,  as  He  will," 
just  as  may  be  needed,  by  the  nature  of  the  indi- 
vidual man,  to  fit  him  for  life  here,  and  a  more 
glorious  life  when  we  put  on  the  immortal  body. 

How  careful  should  we  be  not  to  cause  one  of 
the  little  ones  that  believe  in  Christ  to  offend! 
With  what  tenderness  should  we  watch  the  feeblest 
manifestations  of  real  holiness !  If  the  flax  smoke 
ever  so  little,  there  is  fire  enough  to  kindle  it  And 
if  we  reason  with  the  heart,  aiding  the  experience 


HOME.  253 

of  the  weak  or  ignorant  with  the  truths  best  adapt- 
ed to  their  wants,  they  will  grow  in  grace  rapidly. 
Every  truth  of  the  gospel  is  truth ;  important  truth  ; 
invaluable  in  its  place,  and  fitting  time.  But  all 
truths  are  not  alike  important  at  all  times,  or  for 
all  men.  The  wise  master  builder  does  not  use  a 
shingle  where  a  beam  is  needed,  or  hold  up  a 
rafter  with  a  board  nail.  The  storm  that  invigor- 
ates the  oak  will  destroy  the  tender  wheat.  "  There 
are  diversities  of  gifts,  by  the  same  Spirit." 

Use  logic  with  the  reasoner ;  the  "  deep  things 
of  God"  with  those  who  have  strength  to  receive 
them ;  milk  for  babes.  But  with  all,  preach  and 
teach  from  the  experience  of  the  heart,  to  the  hearts 
of  others.  The  man  who  tells  me  how  he  proves 
a  doctrine  to  be  true,  does  me  little  good.  But  he 
who  tells  me  the  relation  of  that  doctrine  or  idea  to 
the  corresponding  affections  of  the  soul,  enables 
me  to  feed  upon  it,  to  grow  in  holiness,  to  obtain 
new  peace  and  joy,  and  so,  the  better  to  glorify  our 
Father  who  is  in  heaven. 

Thus,  in  the  progress  of  the  individual  mind  we 
see  the  same  variety  of  causes  and  results  that  we 
notice  in  the  revival  of  pure  religion  in  a  whole 
town.  In  all,  God,  our  fathers'  God,  is  at  work  by 
his  Spirit  to  bring  many  sons  and  daughters  to 
glory.  Pray,  Christian,  pray  on,  pray  ever  !  Pray 
22 


254  HOME. 

for  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise,  "  they  shall  all  be 
taught  of  God."  Pray  that  the  Holy  Spirit  may 
constantly  dwell  in  every  mind,  imparting  his  va- 
rious gifts  of  grace,  knowledge  and  love,  to  each 
one,  according  to  his  will,  and  their  needs.  Pray 
that  you  in  no  hour  of  your  life,  may  be  without 
the  presence  of  that  Spirit,  till  Christ  be  perfectly 
formed  in  you  the  hope  of  glory.  Pray  that  He 
may  so  dwell  in  your  children,  in  remembrance  of 
His  covenant,  to  the  end  of  time. 

A  parting  word.  Reader,  Is  this  world  your 
Home  ?  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  will  one  day  come 
with  ten  thousands  of  his  saints;  are  you  so  form- 
ing a  character  like  His,  that  he  "  will  be  admired 
in  you,  in  that  day  ? 

I  love  to  think  of  a  beautiful  comparison  of  Stil- 
lingfleet,  in  the  opening  of  his  Origines  Sacrae.  In 
the  ancient  houses  the  offices  for  daily  and  servile 
toil  occupied  the  first  floor.  The  rooms  for  family 
use,  to  live  in,  were  above.  Heaven,  he  says,  is 
only  the  upper  room,  the  upper  room  of  our  dwel- 
ling-place, where  our  life  is  to  be  passed.  Here, 
we  have  servile  toils,  the  drudgery  of  toil.  It  is 
only  the  preparation  for  our  real  life.  It  is  no 
Home  till  we  enter  the  permanent  dwelling-place. 
When  every  power  of  the  individual  mind  is  fully 
developed,  and  every  power,  every  feeling,  every 


HOME.  255 

thought  entirely  governed  hy  holy  love  to  God  and 
our  fellows,  then  we  are  fitted  for  our  permanent 
Home.  There  will  be  diversities  of  gifts,  there. 
One  will  excel  in  strength,  another  in  wisdom. 
One  will  harp  with  the  harpers,  another  will 
sing  the  new  song.  One  will  ever  devoutly  wor- 
ship, another  will  teach  the  mystery  of  God  to  those 
who  need  a  guide.  But  all  shall  serve  him,  with 
perfect  hearts.  That  makes  heaven  the  Home  of 
the  soul.  Are  you  ready,  fitted  to  enter  our  HOME  ? 


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